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| Chicken Dum Biryani |
CHICKEN DUM BIRYANI RECIPE
PREP TIME : 30 mins
COOK TIME : 90 mins
TOTAL TIME : 2 hours
SERVES : 3
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.
If you really want to prepare this chicken dum biryani recipe the right way, I have one request. Even if you may not be the hugest fan of spending a lot of time in the kitchen, do not skip any steps mentioned here. To prepare better and save time, I’d follow these steps in order.
– Marinate the chicken the night before you are making the biryani.
– Next day, wash and soak the rice first for 30 minutes.
– When the rice is soaking, chop the onions, grind the spices, soak some saffron in warm milk, etc.
– Start frying the onions. This takes some time so keep the flame medium-low and check back as you simultaneously move to the next step.
– Cook the rice in an open pot in boiling water with some added spices and salt.
– Check on the onions and when fried, drain and set aside. Fry cashew nuts and raisins in the same ghee.
– Check the rice and drain in a colander once done.
– Bring our your marinated chicken.
– Layer rice, chicken, saffron milk, mint, coriander, and cook on a very low flame using dum method.
If you really want to prepare this chicken dum biryani recipe the right way, I have one request. Even if you may not be the hugest fan of spending a lot of time in the kitchen, do not skip any steps mentioned here. To prepare better and save time, I’d follow these steps in order.
– Marinate the chicken the night before you are making the biryani.
– Next day, wash and soak the rice first for 30 minutes.
– When the rice is soaking, chop the onions, grind the spices, soak some saffron in warm milk, etc.
– Start frying the onions. This takes some time so keep the flame medium-low and check back as you simultaneously move to the next step.
– Cook the rice in an open pot in boiling water with some added spices and salt.
– Check on the onions and when fried, drain and set aside. Fry cashew nuts and raisins in the same ghee.
– Check the rice and drain in a colander once done.
– Bring our your marinated chicken.
– Layer rice, chicken, saffron milk, mint, coriander, and cook on a very low flame using dum method.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes
- 300 grams chicken, skinned and cut into pieces (with bone is better)
- ½ cup ghee (to use as needed)
- 1 cup sliced onions
- ¼ cup cashew nuts
- 3 tbsp raisins
- 3 tbsp warm milk
- A pinch saffron
- ¼ cup chopped mint leaves
- ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
To Marinate The Chicken
- ½ cup plain curd (yogurt)
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- ¼ tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ cup chopped mint leaves
- 3 flakes of garlic
- 2" piece of ginger
- 2 green chillies (optional, adjust to taste)
- ¼ 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)
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- ¼ 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
METHOD FOR PREPARATION
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 ¼ 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 ¾ 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 ¼ cup ghee (see notes).
- Add the marinated chicken pieces and mix well.
- Now add the freshly ground whole spices or biryani masala.
- 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.
- There are different methods to ensure we provide a dum cooking environment for the biryani.
- We used aluminium foil and closely covered the cooking pan, taking care of the handle area first.
- Then, We 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.