Delicious Easy Chicken Akni
Easy Chicken Akni for me is exactly that, just an easy version of Biryani. This Delicious Easy Chicken Akni recipe is an aromatic chicken and rice married together.
With just a few easy steps and all made in one pot, you will have the most delicious Akni. Doesn’t get easier than that.
Delicious Easy Chicken Akni
If you’ve been following my blog you would know that rice is my ultimate comfort food. So much so that I could eat this for breakfast, lunch and supper.
Only I will have to change my wardrobe to a few sizes larger I would think…haha! My kids are not crazy about any sort of Biryani or this Easy Chicken Akni for that matter.
But I didn’t have much time to cook and this was the easy way out, so they had to eat it or starve. Or in the older one’s case make his own food.
One thing’s for sure I thoroughly enjoyed it with some Cucumber Raita or you can have it with Carrot Salad on the side.
Biryani or Akni
Unlike Biryani this Easy Chicken Akni is more of a moist kind of dish, which I love. The rice doesn’t have to by mushy but I think it has to feel a little wet when cooked, mine turned out perfectly moist.
Everyone has their own version of Chicken Akni, my recipe is fairly simple. However, the amount of liquid I use and the amount of liquid you may need could differ.
As I say living in Johannesburg creates it’s own little challenges in terms of cooking. We use a lot more liquid to cook our food because it does take forever.
If you are starving in JHB please don’t try to cook anything that consists of potatoes. You may die of starvation waiting for it to cook…lol!
One way to solve the problem with the potatoes is to always cook your potatoes until a little tender before adding it to your dishes.
Chicken on the Bone
As in most Indian dishes we prefer chicken on the bone so therefore I used chicken thighs and drumsticks, you could use a whole chicken if you prefer.
Personally I hardly ever use every part of the chicken in my cooking, thanks to my boys. I stick to chicken pieces that I know will get eaten.
As always I love adding some fresh herbs to my dishes. I do have them growing in my garden because I love them that much.
More One-Pot Dishes to try:
One-Pot Spicy Rice and Chicken
Easy Chicken Akni
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken see note 5
- 1 cup basmati or long grain rice
- 2+3 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 bay leaf
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 pieces cinnamon stick
- 4 cardamom pods
- 5 cloves
- 10 peppercorns
- 2 tsp masala
- 2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1&1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
- 2 large roma tomatoes skin removed and blended
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 3 potatoes cut into fours
- handful mint leaves
- handful fresh coriander
- 2 cups water
- salt
Instructions
- Peel potatoes and cut them into four pieces or smaller if you prefer. Add a few tablespoons of water, cover and steam for 5 minutes in the microwave. If you prefer you can also fry them and set aside
- Heat 2 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot. Add the cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, clove, bay leaf, peppercorns and fry until fragrant. Add the onion and fry until golden brown and caramelized
- Add the ginger/garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the masala, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala and fry for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and mix well. Leave the pot open and allow it to fry for 10 minutes on low heat. Add a few drops of water only if required
- Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius
- Add the rice, potatoes, coriander and mint. Add 2 cups water or less, depending on how soon your potatoes will be able to cook. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook in the oven for an hour or less, until potatoes and rice is cooked. Half way through cooking cut up the butter into little cubes and place it in the pot. When cooked the Akni should remain a little moist but not mushy
Notes
- You can add some peas to the Chicken Akni if you prefer
- I used long grain rice because I did not have Basmati Rice although I prefer Basmati Rice. You can use whatever you prefer
- Although I used 2 cups of water you may not need all of it so please use your discretion here. People on the coast may need less water as the potatoes cook faster
- You can reduce the amount of the masala and kashmiri chilli powder if you prefer less heat or you can use one or the other if you prefer
- Although you can swop the chicken with lamb, remember the cooking time may need adjusting. I prefer to cook my lamb for a longer time to make it as tender as possible.
My go to recipe for the perfect akni, just gets better every time I make it. Has the perfect balance of flavors. Certainly a bomb.com recipe in my books!!!!
Thank you Prabashni! I’m so happy to hear that you’re enjoying the recipes. This Akni is on my list of favorites too:-)
I’ve been searching for a South African version of Akni for a few months now and I stumbled across this recipe today. It was my very first attempt at cooking Akni and we absolutely loved it!! I will definitely cook this again and add it to my list of favorite recipes. I love the simplicity of this recipe yet it’s so full of flavor.
Thank you!
Thank you so much Meera. I am really happy to hear that. It’s one of my favorite dishes too.
I’m from pbm , i like ur way of cooking chickens akhin bcz its very simple n quick to cook
I will try to make it.(Malawian person).thanks.
Thank you so much Mussah. I hope you get to try it soon:-)
Hi! I feel like I should already know this… but when you say masala, are you talking about the shop-bought, pre-packaged kind? Or is it just your own blend of chilli powder, turmeric etc?
What exactly goes into your masala, I guess is what I am asking. 🙂
Hi! Masala can be store bought or homemade. Every masala is different in terms of what goes into it. However, as South Africans we use whatever masala we desire and therefore add the extra little bits of spice just to enhance the flavor. So it’s up to you as to what masala you prefer to use. Not everybody makes their own masala or purchases the same brand so it’s why I don’t recommend a specific one.
I really enjoyed this flavorful akhni and it was easy to follow and execute! Thanks so much for the recipe! I just wanted to check if this can be made a day or two in advance? If so, how could I reheat on the day?
Thank you. Yes you can make it ahead of time. When reheating add a little water and steam it on the stovetop on a very low heat:-)
Dearest Lorraine,,
Wow wow! What a colorful, delicious plate of food.
This is my go to Akni. Recipe
Loving this, so finger licking looking good, and so is all your recipes.
Thank you again
Thank you Lallie. Always appreciate you trying my recipes and all the great feedback:-)