Description
Chicken dum biryani recipe, a popular Hyderabadi recipe for chicken biryani that’s delicious since it’s slow cooked and all the flavours mingle in the process. A bit time-consuming but not difficult to make at all.
Scale
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes
- 300 grams chicken, skinned and cut into pieces (with bone is better)
- 1/2 cup ghee (to use as needed)
- 1 cup sliced onions
- 1/4 cup cashew nuts
- 3 tbsp raisins
- 3 tbsp warm milk
- A pinch saffron
- 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
To Marinate the Chicken
- 1/2 cup plain curd (yogurt)
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
- 3 flakes of garlic
- 2” piece of ginger
- 2 green chillies (optional, adjust to taste)
- 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
Powder Together for Biryani Masala
- 4 cardamom pods (just use the seeds)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2” piece of cinnamon
- 1 mace flower (javithri)
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/4 tsp caraway seeds (shahjeera)
- 5 cloves
- 1 star anise
To Cook Rice
- 1 tsp caraway seeds (shahjeera)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp oil
- Salt as needed
Instructions
Marinating the Chicken
- Wash the chicken pieces
- In a blender or mixer jar, add all the ingredients needed for marination + salt
- Grind coarsely and add to the chicken pieces
- Mix well and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight
- Wash and soak 1 cup basmati rice in enough water to completely cover it for 30 minutes
- In the meantime, chop your onions and powder the spice masala
- Soak a pinch of saffron in 3 tbsp warm milk and set aside
- Heat 1/4 cup ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan with a tight-fitting lid. This is the same pan we will use to cook the dum biryani
- Add the sliced onions and keep flame at medium-low. Stir frequently to ensure even frying.
- While the onions are frying, keep water in a large pot for cooking the rice
- Bring the water to a rolling boil and add 1 tsp caraway seeds (shahjeera), 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp oil, and some salt
- Add the soaked rice to this and cook on medium-high heat until the rice is 3/4 cooked. When you take out one grain and bite into it, it shouldn’t be mushy or cooked fully
- While the rice is cooking, keep an eye on the onions and drain when they are fully dark brown
- In the same ghee, fry the cashew nuts, drain and then fry the raisins and drain
- The rice should now be done. Drain the rice in a colander and fluff it with a fork
- Now, in the same pan used for frying the onions, top up the remaining 1/4 cup ghee (see notes)
- Add the marinated chicken pieces and mix well
- Now add the freshly ground whole spices spices or biryani masala. I added about 2 tbsp of it
- Fry for 30 seconds
- Add 1 tbsp each of chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves on top
Layering the biryani
- Layer the cooked rice over the chicken and top up with fried onion, cashew nuts, raisins, coriander leaves, and mint leaves
- Pour the saffron milk mixture on top
Preparing for dum cooking
- There are different methods to ensure we provide a dum cooking environment for the biryani
- I used aluminium foil and closely covered the cooking pan, taking care of the handle area first
- Then, I closed the pan tightly with its lid
- Keep the heat to lowest possible and cook for about 15-20 minutes
- Alternate methods – you can use a clean, damp kitchen towel to cover the cooking pan
- You can also layer the ingredients in a baking dish, cover with aluminium foil, and bake at 320F / 160C for 15 minutes
- Once done, uncover and gently combine the layers so that the spices get mixed with the rice
- Serve chicken dum biryani with raita and mirchi ka salan
Keywords: chicken dum biryani, chicken biryani, hyderabad chicken biryani