Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani

Yum

As the name suggests, it is a variety of biryani from hyderabad, India. This is an aromatic biryani, popularly used methods in restaurants, this luscious chicken biryani is my family favorite and my husband would eat it anytime. This hyderabadi style chicken biryani recipe gives you step by step guide to make the most flavorful, fragrant biryani of all time. I am so excited to share this recipe, honestly it took so many attempts to get the exact flavor and taste, but hang on its not the toughest one to do, just follow the recipe, i am sure you will win hearts. This recipe is great to be made on special occasions or holidays. The results of your labour will look like this and trust me there is nothing like the smell of chicken biryani wafting through the house to get everyone to the table!

Prep time : 20 mins        serves : 4 to 5

chicken with bone in - 1 kilo gram
rice - 3 cups
onions - 3 medium sliced
cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon
ghee - 4 tablespoons
oil for fried onions - 4 tablespoons
saffron milk - half cup (optional)

For marination

whole spices

cardamom - 8 pods

bay leaf - 2
cloves - 10
cinnamon one inch sticks  - 4
star anise - 5
cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
 fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon
pepper corns - 8

green chillies slit - 3 or according to spice level
ginger garlic paste - 3 tablespoonful
red chili powder - 2 teaspoon
turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
fennel powder - 1 teaspoon
biriyani masala - 2 tablespoon
curd/yogurt - 1 cup
mint leaves -  a bunch
coriander leaves - a bunch
lemon - 1 full squeeze
salt - 1 teaspoons
oil/ghee - 4 tablespoon


Tips and preparation
You get the best taste of this biryani only when your ingredients are fresh such as the chicken,herbs, lemon, ginger garlic paste. Make sure you add only fresh homemade ginger garlic paste, it makes a lot of difference in flavors.


In a bowl, add the chicken and all the ingredients mentioned under marination. Mix them well, to this also add some mint and coriander leaves. Let it rest for at least 4 hours or overnight. I normally marinate them overnight to get the best results. 

In a wok or a broad pan, pour the oil for frying the onions, add the thinly sliced onions, here i used red onion, you could use the yellow onion but do not use the sweet onions for any type of Indian cooking. Saute well, to this add a teaspoon of cumin and fennel seeds. Fry until the onion turns little crisp, do not burn the onion as it will make the onions bitter. Strain the onion from oil by placing them in a paper towel as shown in the video, keep them aside, reserve the remaining oil as it got the flavors, we will be using it for layering the biryani later. 

Meanwhile in a big pot pour water some salt, bay leaves, cumin seeds and bring it to a boil, add enough salt, because this is the only way that the rice gets seasoned enough. Once it comes to a boil , add the washed basmati rice, keep in mind the rice cooks quicker so keep an eye on , when it is halfway, around 70% cooked, remove immediately by straining them. Make sure it is only 70% done by pricking the grains it should be well undercooked, we gonna cook along with the chicken. Also reserve a cup of cooked rice water for later use.

Now comes the best part- layering ,in a separate pot, preferably a thick bottom vessel with tight lid, you could use a dutch oven, if not the pressure cooker, yes i used a pressure cooker which had a thick bottom, we are not gonna wait for the whistle, pressure cooker has tight lids which will prevent the dum from escaping. Now switch on the stove on low, drop the marinated chicken and add the fried onions, fennel powder, check for seasoning. To this add the mint and coriander leaves, some ghee and add the under cooked basmati rice. Now the next layer again with mint and coriander leaves, fried onions. Continue layering until you are done with the rice. Finally to this add a tablespoon of biryani masala to half cup of ghee, pour it on top. Onto this pour the saffron milk(a pinch of saffron strands soaked in a half cup of milk) this is totally optional, because saffron strands are quite expensive, normally in restaurants they add saffron food coloring instead. Next pour the reserved oil from the fried onions and a cup of cooked rice water. Top it up with lots of mint, coriander leaves. Close the lid tightly, keep the flame on medium high for 5mins then on low for next 20 to 25 mins this ensures perfect cooking without burning at the bottom.

If using the pressure cooker, after 5 mins on high, you will hear the pressure formed in the cooker, only then i switch the stove to low.

After 30 mins f cooking, Finally the moment of truth, open the lid, smell the aroma of awesome biryani, gently use a big spoon, fluff and take the biryani from the bottom towards up so you get all the layers along with chicken , serve the biryani with raita or chicken curry of your choice. This biryani tastes amazing , the chicken is tender and mildly roasted from layering and the rice is flaky, flavorful and tasty.

If you enjoyed my recipe, please share it to your friends and continue showing your support. Your encouragement means a lot to me. TIA.

Post your comments and feedback.
As always happy cooking!



checkout homemade biryani masala 
https://thelivinggallery.blogspot.com/2016/09/homemade-biriyani-masala.html