Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani – The Best Recipe (Birthday Special)

On 7th August, I celebrated my “quarantined birthday” and since it was a ‘stay at home’ weekend celebration we wanted to make something very special and guess what we cooked for lunch? The everyone’s favorite, delicious, royal and sumptuous looking dish in our food universe – ‘Chicken Dum Biryani’ (Pakki Biryani) . Damn!

A Short Summary of Chicken Dum Biryani –

It is said that Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani is believed to have originated in the kitchens of the Nizam of Hyderabad (State), as a blend of Mughlai and Iranian cuisine. It is considered as a staple of of Indian cuisine.. Prepared from rice using the dum method of cooking. Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani is basially of two types : the kachchi (raw) biryani, and the pakki (cooked) biryani.

Kachchi biryani :

The kachchi biryani is prepared with kachchi gosht/chicken (raw meat) marinated with spices overnight and then soaked in curd (dahi) before cooking. The meat is sandwiched between layers of fragrant basmati rice and cooked “in dum” after sealing the handi (vessel) with dough. This is a challenging process as it requires meticulous attention to time and temperature to avoid over- or under-cooking the meat. Whereas…

Pakki biryani :

In a pakki biryani, the meat is marinated for a shorter time and cooked before being layered with the rice and cooked in a dough-sealed vessel. In pakki biryani (with cooked gravy), the ingredients are cooked before baking.

There is also a vegetable version of cooking Biryani which is made using vegetables such as carrots, peas, cauliflower, potatoes and cashews. But, lets please not talk about that now.

Here, in this special blog post, we made Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani (Pakki biryani) with the basic ingredients that we have in the kitchen -(India Gate) Basmati rice, chicken, eggs, onions and potatoes, Indian masala and whole spices like cinnamon, cloves, cardamom (elaichi), bay leaves, cumin, lemon and saffron. Coriander leaves and fried onions are used as garnish. It is said that the original dish was cooked with red meat but chicken, fish, prawns can be used as an alternative variations always. So here we go….

Full Ingredients :

Items	Quantity
India Gate Basmati Rice	500 gm
Bone-In Chicken	1 kg
Eggs	4
Onions (finely sliced)	3 large
Onion (Puree)	1 large
Potatoes (cut in large pieces)	2 large
Tomato (Puree)	2 large For Marination
Green Chilies (Paste/Shredded)	1 tsp For Marination
Ginger Shreds	3 tbsp
Garlic Shreds	3 tbsp
Cinnamon	1-2 piece
Green Cardamom	4-5
Black Cardamom	2
Cloves	5-6
Black Pepper	10
Bay Leaves	2
Kasoori Methi (dried Fenugreek leaves)	1 tbsp For Marination
Cumin seeds	1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder	3 tbsp
Red Chili Powder	1 tbsp
Biryani – Garam Masala Powder	2 tbsp
Cumin Powder	1 tbsp
Coriander Powder	1 tbsp
Curd	1 1/2 large cup
Lemon	1 whole
Salt	As Per Taste
Sugar	2 tbsp
Ghee	1-2 tbsp
Saffron (Kesar)	1 pinch
Honey	1 tbsp
Milk	1/2 teacup
Coriander leaves	For Garnish
Mint Leaves (Paste)	For Garnish + Marination
Dough	To seal the pot
Vegetable Oil	To Cook
Red-Orange Color	1 pinch
Black Coal	1 small piece

*tbsp-tablespoon; tsp- teaspoon*

Chicken Marination Ingredients :

Items	Quantity
Bone-In Chicken	1 kg
Curd	1 1/2 large cup
Lemon Juice	2 tbsp
Tomato Puree	2 large
Caramelized Onion (fried)	4-5 tbsp
Onion Puree	3-4 tbsp
Turmeric Powder	2 tbsp
Red Chili Powder	1 tbsp
Coriander Powder	1 tbsp
Cumin Powder	1 tbsp
Methi leaves (dried fenugreek leaves)	1 tbsp
Biryani-Garam Masala Powder	2 tbsp
Ginger Shreds	1 tbsp
Garlic Shreds	1 tbsp
Green Chili Paste	1 tsp
Salt	2 tbsp
Sugar	1 tbsp

*Marination Ingredients*

Preparation :

In a large bowl, mix curd, lemon juice, tomato puree, caramelized onions, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, biryani-garam masala powder, ginger shreds, garlic shreds, salt and sugar with the chicken. Mix and marinade the chicken in a bowl keep aside for half n’ hour before cooking.

In a heated pan, fry the large sized chopped potatoes till they are golden brown, once done, keep it aside.

Cook soft boiled eggs in a pressure cooker or in a pot and peel off its outer shell.
Optional Step : Cut the eggs into halves (incompletely or partially), add 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp turmeric powder, mix and marinade the soft boiled eggs.

Optional Step : In a heated mustard oil, fry the marinated eggs on a high flame till the eggs turn golden in color.

In a bowl, take 1 pinch Kesar (saffron) ,1 tbsp honey and 1/2 teacup milk, mix well and keep it aside for layering.

Mix 1 pinch red-orange color in a bowl of basmati rice and keep it aside for layering.

Heat oil in a wok or a large pot, add 1 tsp salt in the oil, 2 whole finely sliced onions, fry till it turns sweet and a bit crispy golden brown over a high flame.

“This process is called caramelizing the onions used later for layering as well as for garnishing the Biryani”.

“Properly caramelizing the onions adds loads of ‘pleasant savory taste'(umami), and also lends a subtle sweetness that’s the perfect contrast to the savory and spicy chicken”.

How to Cook Rice :

Before cooking the rice in a pressure cooker or pot, put 2 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon, 1 black cardamom, 1 green cardamom, 2-3 cloves, 2-3 black pepper, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tbsp ghee and a large pinch of salt in the rice.

Cover and cook till its 70% – 90% done and perfectly fluffy in texture. It should be hard enough, but at the same time you should be able to mash when you press the rice.

Remember that your rice is going to be cooked again on Dum method style later so do not completely cook your rice here in this step.

How to Cook :

Step 1 : Heat oil and ghee in a wok, add cinnamon, green cardamom, black cardamom, whole black pepper, cloves, cumin seeds and bay leaf cook till it changes color, add ginger-garlic paste in the pot, cook till it changes color and releases an aroma over a high flame.

Step 2 : Add the rest of onion puree and fry till it releases an aroma over a high flame.

Step 3 : Add the marinated Chicken to the ingredients in the wok, add 1 tbsp turmeric powder, salt and 2 tbsp sugar, mix and saute for 7-8 mins. over a high flame. Add 1 teacup water, mix and cover the pan. simmer for 7-8 minutes more till the chicken is perfectly cooked, continue stirring in between . (Check the salt in the gravy; add more if required)

Step 4 : In a small bowl place lit coal, pour ½ tsp ghee and place in the center of the pan. Cover and keep for 2-3 minutes on a low flame. Turn off the flame.

Step 5 : Layering – Spread the caramelized (fried) onions,colored rice and layer the cooked rice over the chicken gravy. Place the fried potatoes and fried eggs over the rice. Squeeze half cut lemon juice and sprinkle fried onions, colored rice, mint leaves and coriander leaves evenly. Pour the saffron soaked milk and ghee all over the ingredients in the pot evenly.

Step 6 : Seal the brim of the pot/vessel with a dough tightly. You can also use a foil paper or a thick moist cloth to seal the vessel instead.

Step 7 : Cover the pot/vessel with a air tight lid to trap the steam or dum. Make sure no steam leaves the vessel while baking.

Step 8: Place this pot/vessel on a hot tawa and cook/bake for about 10-12 minutes over a medium heat. Once done, turn off the flame and allow to rest for 5-7 minutes before opening the lid.

In Pakki biryani, the chicken/meat and rice is cooked before you layer on the rice. So, this needs less time for the assembled biryani layers to cook at the end.

Step 9 : Serve hot with raita and salads.

This ‘Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani Recipe’ is worth the efforts and time it takes to cook because at the end of everything one spoon full of this Biryani and Bam! you’ll be in food heaven. I promise you..

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