Chicken biryani bake recipe - Recipes - BBC Good Food

Start by making the curry. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large, deep frying pan. Season the chicken and fry until browned, then remove and set aside. Fry the onion in the rest of the oil for 10-12 mins until soft and starting to caramelise.

Add the paste and cauliflower, stirring to coat everything, then return the chicken. Pour in the stock, tomatoes and chickpeas and simmer everything for 30 mins until the cauliflower is nearly tender. There should be just enough liquid to cover everything so add a splash more water or stock if you need to. Remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt.

Assemble the bake in either 1 large or 2 smaller, deep ovenproof dishes. Start with a ¹/³ of the spinach leaves, season, then top with a ¹/³ of the curry. Finish with a ¹/³ of the rice then repeat twice more. Scatter on the almonds and either cool completely to freeze, or heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and cook for 20-25 mins until the topping has crisped up and the dish is piping hot through.

Cook from frozen The biryani bake can be cooked from frozen but the cauliflower will become quite soft. Cover with foil and bake at 180C/160C/ gas 4 for 1 hr 45 mins, before removing foil and baking at 220C/ 200C/gas 7 for 30 mins more until piping hot through. Or defrost at room temp, then cook as above in the recipe, just adding an extra 10-15 mins to the cooking time.