Marinade: Marinate the chicken with yogurt, ginger garlic paste, turmeric, salt and red chilli powder. Keep aside. You can also marinate the previous day and refrigerate up to 48 hours.
Biryani masala: Powder the ingredients mentioned under to powder or use a readymade biryani masala.
Prepare Rice: Wash rice several times and soak for 20 mins. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, slice onions and green chilies. Pluck the mint and coriander leaves. Clean, rinse and fine chop them. Keep all the whole spices ready for tempering.
Heat a deep pan or a casserole or a pressure pan or cooker with oil.
Add all the whole spices - bay leaf, green cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon stick, black pepper corn (optional), nutmeg (optional), mace and star anise.
When they begin to sizzle, add onions & green chili. On a medium heat, fry till the onions turn golden color and lose the raw flavor.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.
Add the mint & coriander leaves. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes and then stir in the tomatoes and saute until they turn pulpy & soft.
Add marinated chicken and fry on high flame till the chicken turns white in color. This usually takes 3 to 4 mins.
Add powder masala or biryani masala powder and mix well. Saute till the mix begins to leave the sides of the pan. At this stage you will see oil begins to release.
Pour hot water, cover and bring the water to a rolling boil on a medium heat. Chicken will be almost cooked by this time else cook further by covering until chicken turns tender.
Drain the water completely from the rice and and add it here. Stir in the salt.
On a medium flame, Cook without the lid till almost all the water evaporates. Later turn down the heat to low. Mix well from the bottom.
To Cook in a Pot: Cover the pot with a lid and cook till the rice is fully done. If it looks too dry, pour some boiling hot water as this depends on the kind of rice used.
Optional Dum Cooking: To prevent the rice being burnt at the bottom, place the biryani pot on a hot tawa/ griddle and dum cook till the rice is cooked fully. When you see the rice is cooked and no excess moisture is left, turn off the heat.
If using a pressure cooker, close the lid and cook for about 5 minutes on a low flame. Turn off and Do not let it whistle. When the pressure drops open the lid.
Let rest the cooked biryani for at least 10 mins. Fluff up Andhra chicken biryani with a fork and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with Onion Raita.