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Dum Chicken Biryani Featured Image.

Dum Chicken Biryani With Restaurant Flavors

Tanvi Srivastava
Learn how to make authentic chicken dum biryani at home with this step by step recipe. From marinating chicken to layering, this guide will walk you through every stage for rich flavor, fluffy rice grains and perfect taste every time.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Marination Time 5 hours
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

To Deep Fry Onions

  • 400 g sliced onions these will we used both while cooking chicken, as well as while layering the biryani
  • 2-3 cup Oil I use avocado oil. choose a neutral high flame point cooking oil since we will also use it later for cooking the chicken

To Marinate Chicken

  • 6 large garlic cloves
  • 1 inch fresh ginger
  • 4-5 green chillies hot! (adjust to taste)
  • 500 g chicken drumsticks skinned, choose medium sized
  • 500 g chicken thighs skinned,choose medium sized
  • 175 g plain yogurt thick yogurt, I use whole yogurt
  • 1 to 1.5 tablespoon kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1.5 tablespoon coriander powder
  • ½ to 1 tablespoon biryani masala adjust quantity depending on the intensity(taste, heat level & aroma) of the biryani masala you are using. I use mild & aromatic homemade biryani masala
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1.5 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ¼ cup cilantro leaves
  • 2 tablespoon mint leaves
  • ⅓ cup oil leftover from deep frying onions

Rice

  • 400 g rice can go to 500g if you prefer more rice than chicken
  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • ½ tablespoon lemon juice
  • 6 green cardamom pods
  • ½ inch cinnamon stick
  • 4 cloves
  • 1+¼ teaspoon salt adjust to taste, we want well seasoned rice

To Layer The Biryani (adjust the quantity of these components as desired)

  • ½ cup fried onions
  • 4-5 tablespoon ghee
  • 2-3 green chillies
  • 1 tablespoon ginger julinnes
  • ⅓ cup green herbs chopped fresh mint & fresh cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon biryani masala divided
  • 12-15 saffron strands soaked in 2 tablespoon warm milk
  • 1.5 teaspoon kewra water for aroma, skip if not available
  • ¼ teaspoon food color I use mix of orange & egg yellow powdered food color

Instructions
 

Make Deep Fried Onions

  • Start by heating oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed, wide pan over medium heat. Once the oil is ready, add the sliced onions.
  • Let them fry, stirring occasionally, so that they cook evenly.This process takes 8-12 minutes and patience. Keep a close eye on them as they begin to turn golden.You are looking for a rich golden (but not dark) color. Take them out on a wide tray or plate before they turn too dark since they will continue to deepen in color due to carryover heat.
    • One of the best parts about frying onions at home is the flavorful oil that you’re left with. It absorbs all the savory aroma of onions. We will use a part of this oil for marinating the chicken. You can save this oil if desired and use for a week in cooking savory dishes.
  • Spread fried onions on a large plate or tray to cool down. As the onions will cool, they will crisp up. Save ⅓ rd of the onions to use while layering. Rest will be used while marinating the chicken.

Marinate the Chicken (At least 5-6 house ahead, preferably)

  • Add garlic cloves, ginger and green chillies to a small blender jar and grind into a smooth paste.
  • In a large bowl, add the chicken pieces, along with whisked yogurt, ginger garlic green chilli paste, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and salt. Also add ⅔rd of the fried onions along with chopped cilantro and mint leaves. Pour over ⅓ cup of onion flavored oil.
  • Mix everything really well with hands(wear gloves!). Make sure that the chicken is evenly coated with the masala. Let marinate for at least 5 to 6 hours.
    • For even better results, give the chicken more marination time if you can. Letting the chicken marinate overnight or up to a full day will really deepen the taste. If you do plan to marinate it that long, wait to add the fried onions until the last couple of hours before cooking. This helps keep their flavor fresh.
  • Before you begin cooking, take the marinated chicken out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about thirty to forty five minutes. This helps it cook more evenly and keeps the chicken tender.

Wash and Soak Basmati Rice

  • Once you are ready to cook biryani, start by rinsing the rice. Measure and place basmati rice in a large bowl. Move around in circular motion and scrub lightly with fingers. Repeat this 3-5 times under a running stream of water until the water runs mostly clear. This helps remove excess starch so that the rice grains stay seperate after cooking.
  • Once washed, soak the rice in fresh water for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, lets make the chicken masala.

Cook The Chicken Masala Base

  • Transfer the marinated chicken to a large heavy bottomed pot. I use a 14 inch pot with lid. We will use the pot to make chicken masala and then layer the biryani in it as well. Make sure the pot is large enough since you will be layering the rice in the same pot later. Sprinkle biryani masala and mix with chicken.
    • Adding biryani masala at this stage keeps it pronounced and also preservs texture of chicken(since sometimes store bought biryani masalas have meat tendrizer mixed in them).
  • Cook the chicken over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, while stirring often, until it starts to firm up and you see liquid in the pot. Then cover the pot and let cook for another twelve to fifteen minutes or just until chicken is fully cooked and the masala has thick & saucy. Make sure that the chicken does not start falling off the bone(adjust cooking time as needed).
  • Once chicken masala is ready, transfer to a dish and let stand.
  • While the chicken is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil with salt, oil and all the whole spices.
    • To keep things neat, you can tie the whole spices in a small piece of cheesecloth and add this bundle to the water. This allows the spices to gently perfume the rice without leaving whole pieces scattered throughout.
  • Add the soaked and drained basmati rice to boiling water and gently stir once or twice so it does not stick to bottom. Let the rice cook until it is about 95% done, then drain it. When rice is cooked, the grains start floating towards the top of boiling water. Drain all the water and discard the whole spices parcel.
    • Timing wise, we want both the chicken and rice to be ready for layering around the same time so that we can begin biryani assembly while the layers are still hot.

Assembly & Final Steaming

  • Now it's time to layer everything. You can create layers of biryani as desired. Ideally chicken masala is parceled between layers of rice. Liberally brush ghee on sides and bottom of the layering pot (I use the same pot in which I cooked the chicken). Spread half of the basmati rice evenly over the base. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon biryani masala on the rice.
  • Spread all the chicken masala evenly over rice. Sprinkle half of herbs and 2-3 tablespoons fried onions on chicken. Then top with the remaining rice. Spread rice to cover all the chicken masala.
  • Add your final garnishes over the top layer of rice. Which include sprinkle of remaining ½ teaspoon biryani masala, remaining fried onions, slit green chillies and fresh chopped herbs. Generously drizzle remaining ghee, kewra water and saffron milk over rice. Sprinkle food color over the rice.
  • Tightly close the lid of the pot. You can seal the pot with aluminium foil or roti dough (traditional way). Place over a low heat and let steam for 15-20 minutes. This process of sealed steaming is called dum cooking. Do not peek or open the lid while steaming.
  • Let the steamed biryani rest for 20 minutes for rice to firm up. Once rested, gently fluffing it starting from the side of the pot using a soft spatula. Mixing the biryani creates that traditional look of masala soaked rice, colored rice grains and chicken pieces.
  • Serve the biryani (preferably) using a small saucer plate or spatula. Using a small plate prevents the rice from breaking. Always start serving rice from the side of the pot. Serve with raita, and refreshing kachumber or green chutney.

Notes

  1. Use the best quality aged, long grain rice you can find for making biryani. I use Royal basmati sella rice or Indian gate basmati rice.
  2. Make sure that the yogurt you are using is not sour else the biryani will become tangy. 
  3. Let leftover biryani cool down and store it in air tight containers for 2-3 days. To reheat, microwave a serving for 20-25 seconds. 
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!