Biryani-ish Rice with Chicken

Milk Street Facebook Community member Charita Sinha of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, uses leftover cooked chicken to whip up a weeknight-easy dinner that echoes the flavor of biryani, a time- and labor-intensive South Asian dish of spiced rice and meat. Cold rice works beautifully here, as the grains are loose and separate, but warm, freshly cooked basmati is great, too. Sinha likes to garnish the rice with the Indian snack called bhujia, which resembles crunchy noodles, for pleasing textural contrast; toasted sliced almonds also work nicely. We like to serve yogurt or tamarind or mango chutney on the side for a little tang.