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Aunti Shaimaa's Iraqi Biryani Recipe

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This recipe for Aunti Shaimaa's Iraqi Biryani is from One More Bite, one of the cookbooks created at FamilyCookbookProject.com. We'll help you start your own personal cookbook! It's easy and fun. Click here to start your own cookbook!
Category:
Category:
Ingredients:  
Ingredients:  
¼ cup oil
1 cup vermicili noodles
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
2 medium potatoes cut into small cubes
½ cup slivered almonds
2 cups chicken breast cut into cubes

Biryani Rice

¼ cup oil
2 cups basmati rice
1 teaspoon maggie cube
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon biryani spices Biryani spices are a mixture of: cumin, coriander, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and black pepper)
4 cups hot water
Directions:
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, add ¼ cup of oil and vermicelli noodles. You have to stir them frequently to achieve the golden brown color. Add 1 cup of hot water, salt, and frozen peas and carrots. Cook on medium heat for the water to be fully absorbed. Transfer to a large tray and set aside.

Peel, wash, and cut your potatoes into small cubes. Next, you have to mix them with salt and oil. Now it's time to pan-fry potatoes on medium heat to have them golden and crispy.

Toast the slivered almonds in a pan with 1 tablespoon of oil. Stir almonds over medium heat. The moment almonds' color becomes a golden brown, add raisins and cook for only 30 seconds.

Now it's time to mix the cubed chicken breast with salt and 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the cubed chicken to a different skillet and stir over medium heat. The minute chicken cubes are white, turn off the heat and set the pan aside.
Step 2:

It's time to add ¼ cup of oil to a pot, along with rinsed rice, salt, maggie cube, biryani spices, black pepper, and hot water.

Make sure everything is combined well. Keep the pot on high heat without lid.

The moment all the moisture is absorbed, cover with lid and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
Assembly:

Everything is cooked and ready! Now it is the right time to harmoniously assemble this amazing dish. You should bring a large tray. Then, add to it your cooked vermicelli, carrots and peas mixture, cooked chicken, almonds, and cooked rice.

Add more spices for a better fragrance and taste: 1 tablespoon of biryani spices and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Now gently mix it all to make sure everything is well combined.

Here you have it – a delicious homemade Iraqi Biryani or Kurdish biryani!
Personal Notes:
Personal Notes:
*NOBODY can make this recipe as well as Auntie Shaimaa but because her oral directions always get muddled in my head I've used another recipe that I found online that is the closest possible approximation.

**Everytime we visit the precious Ali family Auntie Shaimaa makes this dish (along with many others) for us. Josef especially loves it and Aunti Shaimaa loves dishing up serving after serving to him and to all the other children who can never get enough of this most delicious meal. It is so good that during pregnancy even tasting one bite can literally bring tears to my eyes!!! No wonder our Muslim friends say feeding a pregnant woman brings extra sawab! ;)

 

 

 

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