Name: Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani
Prep time: 150 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 210 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Hyderabadi
Ingredients: 800 g chicken (bone-in, cut into curry pieces); 300 ml plain yoghurt (whisked); 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste; 2 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder; 1 tsp turmeric powder; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 3 whole green chillies (slit); 30 g mint leaves (chopped); 30 g coriander leaves (chopped); 150 g fried onions (birista) (crisp, divided); salt (to taste); 500 g aged basmati rice (rinsed and soaked 30 minutes); 3 l water (for boiling the rice); 4 whole green cardamom pods; 2 whole black cardamom pods; 1 stick cinnamon; 2 whole bay leaves; 2 tbsp salt (for the rice water); 1 pinch saffron strands (soaked in 3 tbsp warm milk); 60 g ghee; 200 g dough (for sealing the pot, or use foil)

Method

Marinate the chicken

Mix the chicken with the yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, turmeric, lemon juice, green chillies, half the mint, half the coriander, half the fried onions and salt, and marinate in the fridge.

A two-hour marinade is the minimum — overnight gives noticeably deeper flavour.

120 min

Parboil the rice

Bring the water to a rolling boil with the whole cardamoms, cinnamon, bay leaves and salt, then add the soaked rice and boil until it is about seventy percent cooked, still firm at the core.

Bite a grain — it should have a firm, slightly undercooked centre, since it finishes cooking during the dum.

6 min

Drain the rice

Drain the rice immediately in a colander so it doesn't overcook.

Layer the biryani

Spread the marinated chicken in an even layer at the bottom of a heavy pot, then cover it completely with the parboiled rice.

Top and seal

Scatter the remaining fried onions, mint and coriander over the rice, drizzle over the saffron milk and melted ghee, then seal the pot tightly with a rim of dough or foil so no steam escapes.

A good seal is what makes dum cooking work — check there are no gaps around the lid.

Cook on dum

Place the sealed pot on very low heat, or in a hot oven, and let it cook undisturbed so the chicken steams and the rice absorbs all the flavour.

Resist opening the lid early — every time you break the seal, steam and flavour escape.

45 min

Rest before opening

Take the pot off the heat and let it rest sealed for a few minutes before breaking the seal.

10 min

Serve

Break the seal, fluff the biryani gently from the bottom up so the chicken and rice mix, and serve hot with raita.

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

Ingredients

Method

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