Heat 1/4 cup cooking oil in a large saucepan and fry 2 large onion sliced along with 3 green chilies till golden brown. Add mint leaves, 2 tbsp of ginger garlic paste, 2 chopped tomatoes, and curry leaves. Fry till tomatoes soften and oil separates.

Add chicken pieces, 1 tbsp red chili powder, 1 tbsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, and biryani spice powder. Fry on high heat for 1 minute and stir well till everything is well combined.

Then add 3/4 cup whisked yogurt, salt, and chopped coriander leaves. Cover and cook on medium low heat till chicken is almost cooked.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare biryani rice.

Heat 4 tbsp of ghee in a large nonstick vessel and add bay leaf, cinnamon stick and cardamom.

Now add sliced onion and fry till soft and pink. To this add the measured water – 7 and 3/4 cups of water.

Once the water starts to boil, add salt (4 tsp) and 1 tbsp vinegar. Wash the rice and add to the boiling water. Bring the water and rice to a boil, and then reduce the heat, cover and cook on low flame till rice is almost cooked and water has evaporated.

With help of a ladle, lift up the rice from sides and bottom and allow the trapped steam to come out. Do not overcook the rice. Switch off the heat and keep the vessel partially covered.

In a large vessel or same vessel in which you cooked gravy, make the first layer as chicken gravy. For the second layer, add half of the cooked rice. Then sprinkle a pinch of garam masala powder, curry leaves, sliced green chilies, half of the fried onion and some fried cashew nuts and few tbsp of ghee.

Again make a layer of another half of the rice, and repeat all the things from step 9.

Make deep dents in the rice for steam to circulate. Cover the vessel well and keep for dum cooking on medium heat for 5 minutes. And then reduce the heat and cook on low heat for another 10 minutes. Once the steam starts forming, switch off the heat and leave the biryani covered for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Serve hot with Raita, Pickle, and Pappad.