Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani

Hyderbadi Chicken Dum Biryani

Ingredients for the Rice

Basmati rice - 4 cups

Cardamom - 2

Cloves - 2

Cinnamon - 2"

Bay leaves - 2

Water - 6 cups

Salt to taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

Ingredients for the chicken gravy

Chicken with bone - 750 gm

Onion chopped - 2 nos

Tomato chopped - 2 nos

Mint leaves/ Pudina chopped - 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves chopped - 1/2 cup

Green chilli whole - 1 no

Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tbsp

Curd - 2 tbsp

Red chili powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder - 2 tsp

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Fennel powder - 1 tsp

Cardamom - 2 nos

Clove - 2 nos

Cinnamon - 1" piece

Bay leaf - 1

Oil - 3 tbsp

Salt to taste

Water - 1/4 cup

For layering and garnishing

Ghee - 4 tsp

Chopped cashew nuts - handful

Coriander leaves chopped - 1/2 cup

Fried onions - 1/2 cup (optional)

Saffron - 8 strands

Warm Milk - 1/4 cup

Hyderabadi Biryani Recipe

Pre-cooking preparation

1. Wash and soak basmati rice in 6 cups water.

2. Soak saffron strands in 1/4 cup warm milk until the milk absorbs color from saffron and turns orange in color.

3. Marinate chicken pieces with 1 tbsp ginger & garlic paste, 2 tbsp curd, 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 2 tsp coriander powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp fennel powder, chopped mint and chopped coriander leaves for at least 1 hour.

Method to make rice and gravy.

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaves given under rice ingredients. 

2. Sauté for few seconds, add rice to the pan along with water in which it was soaked.

3. Season rice with enough salt, stir well, cover pan with tight lid and cook rice until 3/4th done.

4. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pressure pan to make chicken gravy, when oil is hot add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaves given under ingredients for gravy. Sauté for few secs.

5. Add chopped onions, whole green chilli and stir fry for few secs, add 1 tbsp ginger & garlic paste and stir fry until raw smell leaves.

6. Now add chicken pieces along with marinated mixture to the pan, stir fry for few mins.

7. Next add chopped tomatoes, rest of red chilli powder, required salt, stir fry for few more mins and add 1/4 cup water, stir well.

8. Cover pan with lid and pressure cook chicken gravy for 10 mins.

9. Once pressure is released, remove lid and cook chicken gravy until semi dry.

Assembling and putting biryani on dum

1. Keep a heavy bottomed tawa or griddle on medium heat.

2. Grease little ghee at bottom of deep vessel.

3. Spread some gravy along with chicken in bottom layer, then sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and fried onions on the gravy, then layer some rice above the gravy layer.

4. Again spread some gravy along with chicken above rice layer, sprinkle coriander leaved and fried onions continue the same process with rest of the gravy and rice.

5. The top most layer should be rice, sprinkle chopped cashew nuts, saffron milk mixture and rest of ghee on top of rice.

6. Cover vessel with tight lid and place vessel on top of hot tawa.

7. Let vessel stand on tawa for 10 to 15 mins.

8. Before serving mix well and serve.

Chicken Dum Biryani Recipe