Place all the ingredients for marination – ginger, garlic, turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala, red chili powder, green chilies (if using), coriander leaves, mint leaves, lemon juice, yogurt and salt - in a food processor. Process to form a smooth paste.

Rub this paste onto the chicken (or mutton) pieces. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight if time permits.

Place all the ingredients for the masala powder – cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and peppercorns – in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Grind it to a coarse powder. Set aside.

Rinse rice under cold running water until water runs clear. Soak in water for 30 minutes.

Boil a large pot of salted water. Add rice, cloves, cardamom, bay leaves, star anise and oil. Cover with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil again. Lower the heat to medium, and simmer until rice is half cooked. Drain and set aside.

Heat ghee and oil in a medium frying pan over medium high heat. Add onions. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes or until browned. Add sugar. Cook, stirring, for another 1-2 minutes or until onions are caramelized. Set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoon of the onions to garnish.

Heat 3 tablespoon ghee and 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken (or mutton) and biryani masala powder. Fry, stirring occasionally, for about 5-6 minutes. (If using mutton, cook for 7-8 minutes). Make sure chicken is arranged in one layer. Add the next layer – half of rice, 1 teaspoon ghee and half of caramelized onion. Scatter over half of chopped coriander leaves. Pour in half of saffron milk. Repeat layer with rest of rice, 1 teaspoon ghee, and rest of caramelized onions. Scatter over rest of the chopped coriander leaves. Pour in rest of saffron milk.

Cover the casserole with a very tight fitting lid. This is very important as we don’t want steam to escape. To ensure the lid is really tight, Cover the casserole with aluminium foil and then place the lid on top.

Place the casserole on a tawa. Cook biryani over high heat for 5 minutes, then over medium heat for 15 minutes, and finally over low heat for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat. Let it stand for 10 minutes before opening the lid.

Garnish with the reserved caramelized onions, and more chopped coriander leaves if you like. Serve with raita and pappadums.