Hyderabadi biryani is a form of biryani, from Hyderabad, India. It is prepared in the form of kachay gosht ki biryani and dum ki biryani.
Hyderabad dum biryani, a classic dish of the Mughal Nizams is an eye-catching aromatic rice loved by all. We all love biryani, but when it comes to preparing them most of us, step back because of the tedious process. But trust me, once you get used to the right process, it is such an easy breezy way of making restaurant style biryani. You will adore it.
chicken dum biryani
hyderabadi chicken dum biryani recipe can be prepared in two ways, kacha (kachi) Method and Pakki Method. In the Kachi method of making biriyani, the raw ingredients are just marinated and placed at the bottom of a utensil and layered with partially cooked rice, saffron etc. Sealed & cooked on a slow dum process, trapping the steam inside for even cooking. I have also shared one such kachi chicken biryani here sometime ago.
Pakki is the other method where the meat and rice are cooked separately and then the rice, saffron etc are layered, sealed and cooked on a dum process for a shorter time. In this post I am sharing the second method of making i.e the pakki chicken dum biryani recipe made in hyderabadi style. This recipe yields very aromatic biryani rice with delicious, soft tender chicken.
How To Make Chicken Dum Biryani Recipe - Hyderabadi Dum Biryani
1. Wash rice few times till the water runs clear. Soak in ample water for 30 mins. Drain and set aside.
2. Bring 2 to 2 ½ liters water to a boil in a pot or a cooker. Add bay leaf and shahi jeera. You can also use cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms. If you do not like to get a bite of the spices in the rice, you can also tie these in a muslin cloth and add to the pot. cooking biryani rice
3. Meanwhile, Heat 3 tbsp. oil in a biryani pot , handi or pan. Add sliced onions and fry evenly until golden. fried onions for biriyani recipe
4. These onions lend a unique and authentic flavor, so do not skip these.
5. When they turn dark brown, set aside ¼ portion of these fried onions.
6. When the water comes to a boil, add salt and drained rice and cook until al dente or 90 % done. cooking biriyani rice with spices
7. While the rice cooks, let us make the chicken ready. To the rest of the onions, add 1 small bay leaf, star anise, ½ tsp shahi jeera, 3 cardamoms, 4 cloves. Saute just for a min without burning. sauteing spices for chicken biryani recipe
8. Add 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste. addition of ginger galric for chicken biryani recipe
9. Saute on a medium flame until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes off. sauteing ginger garlic for chicken biryani recipe
10. Add chicken. addition of meat for chicken biryani recipe
11. Saute for 2 to 3 mins until the chicken turns white in color. Sprinkle salt. sauteing meat
12. Add biryani masala, red chili powder, turmeric and green chilies. I use this homemade biryani masala. Just a reminder about the rice, do check it. spice powders salt for chicken biryani recipe
13. Mix everything well and fry for 3 mins. After that cover and cook on a low flame for 3 to 4 mins for the chicken to release the moisture. cooking covered for chicken dum biryani recipe
14. Add 1 cup thick curd / yogurt. addition of curd in chicken dum biryani recipe
15. Stir, cover and cook on a medium flame until chicken is soft and tender. cooking yogurt gravy for chicken dum biryani recipe
16. While the chicken cooks, check the rice. Drain off the rice to a colander when cooked to al dente. The rice must be 90 % cooked meaning you must feel the bite when you bite through a rice grain. Rice should be firm and grainy but not mushy.
17. When the chicken is cooked completely, a thick gravy is left in the pot with oil separated. Check the salt now and add more if needed. Stir well and sprinkle chopped coriander and pudina leaves.
18. Layer the rice over the chicken gravy. Sprinkle fried onions, pudina and coriander leaves. You can also add the optional ingredients – pour the saffron soaked milk, ghee and kewra water evenly. For multilayer check the recipe card below.
19. Cover the pot with a foil or a thick clean moist cloth.
20. Cover with a air tight lid to trap the steam or dum. If you do not have a tight lid then you can place a heavy pot over the lid. You can mix 1 ½ cups atta with water and make a dough. Stick the dough to the rim of the lid. Press it off on to the pot, for a air tight seal. Place this pot on a hot tawa and cook for about 12 to
15 mins on a medium heat. Once done switch off and allow to rest for at least 20 mins.
21. Aromatic biriyani is ready.Serving suggestion chicken biryani can be served with a raita. You can find raita recipes here. you can also serve with a biriyani shorba or gravy. You can find biryani gravy recipes here.
For rice
- 2 cups basmathi rice (preferably aged rice)
- 2 to 2 ½ litres water
- 1 tsp shahi jeera
- 1 small bay leaf
- 2 inch thin cinnamon, 3 green cardamoms, 4 cloves (optional)
For gravy
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2 medium onions sliced thinly
- 1 star anise
- 3 green cardamoms
- 1 black cardamom (optional)
- 4 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- ½ tsp shahi jeera
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- ½ kg chicken (500 to 600 grams) (or 1 lb)
- Salt as needed
- ⅛ to ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1 ½ to 2 tsp biryani masala (or chickn masala)
- ¾ to 1 tsp red chili powder
- 2 green chilies slit (adjust as needed)
- 1 cup thick fresh curd / dahi / yogurt (do not use sour curd)
- Handful of pudina / mint finely chopped
- Handful of coriander leaves finely chopped
Optional ingredients
- 2 tbsp hot milk with pinch of saffron soaked
- 1 tsp kewra water
- 1 tbsp ghee
Instructions
Cooking biriyani rice
- Wash rice few times until the water runs clear. Soak for 30 mins. Drain the water.
- Bring 8 to 10 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add bay leaf and shahi jeera. You can also add cinnamon stick, cardamoms and cloves. You can also tie these spices in a muslin cloth and add to the pot. It can be discarded later
- When the water comes to a boil, add salt and drained rice.
- Cook until it is done al dente. Rice should be firm, grainy and you must feel the bite into the grain when you bite it. Drain it off to a colander.
Making biryani gravy
- While the rice cooks, Saute onions in hot oil to make fried onions. When they are golden and evenly done, set aside ¼ of them aside on a kitchen towel.
- Lower the flame and saute bay leaf, star anise, shahi jeera, cloves, cardamom.
- Add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell has gone completely.
- Add chicken and fry on a medium heat until it turns pale or white.
- Sprinkle salt, biriyani masala, red chili powder, slit green chilies and turmeric. Mix well and fry for 3 mins.
- Cover and cook on a low to medium flame for 3 to 4 mins to let the moisture out from the meat.
- Pour yogurt and mix well. Cover and cook on a medium heat until the meat is completely cooked and the gravy thickens. At this stage a thick gravy is left for the dum process. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
- Lower the flame, sprinkle some mint and coriander leaves. Stir well.
- Layer the rice evenly. Sprinkle fried onions, mint, coriander leaves, saffron soaked milk, kewra water & ghee. You can also skip using saffron, ghee and kewra water but these give an authentic touch.
- Cover the pot with a foil or a moist kitchen cloth. Place a tight lid to trap the steam or dum. If the lid is not tight then you can place a heavy pot on top of the lid.
To make multilayer biryani:
- Use a small pot . Just before layering the rice, set aside half of the chicken curry. Layer half the rice. Then layer the rest of the curry. Repeat layering rice then ghee, kewra , mint coriander and fried onions.
Dum process
- Heat a old tawa or a pan, place this biryani pot and dum cook for 12 to 15 mins on a medium heat. If using a induction stovetop, you can directly place the pot at 3 No for 15 to 20 mins.
For oven method
- Grease an oven safe bowl, Add the cooked chickn mixture, Layer the rice, sprinkle mint, coriander, saffron milk and seal it with a foil, dum in the preheated oven at 180 c for 15 to 25 minutes.
