Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani

Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani is a popular biryani recipe from Hyderabad, India made with basmati rice, meat (mostly lamb meat or chicken), spices, yogurt, and herbs. It is one of the easiest chicken biryani recipes made with marinated chicken layered with partially cooked rice and then slowly cooked on Dum in a biryani pot.

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I love every single dish from Hyderabadi cuisine. Whether it is Hyderabadi Chicken Masala, Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani, and Hyderabadi Green Chicken, they are so aromatic and flavorful that you can’t resist having them.

In this post, I am sharing the tried & tested recipe of Authentic Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani with step-by-step photos and a recipe video. Serve it with raita, salad, and salan.

If you are a beginner or never ever made Hyderabadi biryani before then try this easy Hyderabadi biryani recipe. You can never go wrong with this recipe 🙂

About this recipe

Hyderabadi Biryani originated in the kitchens of the Nizam of Hyderabad. It is a popular rice dish from Hyderabadi cuisine.

Biryani is made with basmati rice, chicken or lamb meat, and herbs & flavored with Indian spices. Hyderabadi chicken biryani is cooked with “the dum pukht method” and thus it gets the name “Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani“.

Dum pukht method simply refers to slow cooking. In this method, the chicken is marinated and layered with partially cooked rice in a pot. It is then sealed and cooked in a pot over low heat.

The steam formed inside the biryani pot helps the rice and meat to cook together. It also keeps the flavor and aroma of the spices intact. Thus the biryani made through this process is more aromatic and flavorful.

Hyderabadi biryani is of two types – Kachi biryani and Pakki biryani. In this post, I am sharing Kachi biryani (also known as Kacche murgh ki biryani or kachi yakhni biryani). The biryani is made with raw chicken that is layered with partially cooked rice and then dum-cooked.

If you like this recipe you might be interested in these amazing biryani recipes

1. Mutton Biryani
2. Chicken biryani in pressure cooker
3. Chicken tikka biryani
4. Kolkata chicken biryani
5. Butter chicken biryani
6. Lucknowi chicken biryani
7. Shrimp Biryani
8. Egg biryani in pressure cooker

Why you might need this recipe?

• Quick & easy to make – Easy step-by-step method with photos to make this recipe.
• Timings & notes: Making a perfect biryani needs a bit of experience, patience, and overall a good understanding of the time and temperature to cook it. Here, in this recipe, we have carefully recorded the timings to cook it so that you get this dish perfect restaurant-style Hyderabadi chicken biryani at home every time you make it.
• Dum cooking method – Dum cooking makes this rice dish so aromatic and flavorful that you will surely fall in love with it.
• Easy to customize – see the ingredients notes below for alternative ingredients.
• Make-ahead recipe – you can make it ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. Stays good for 2 days. Reheat and serve.

Chicken biryani can be made in three simple steps:

1. Marinate the meat.
2. Layer with partially cooked rice
3. Cook it on dum.

I have updated the recipe to make it simple. There is less use of complicated spices.

But I promise you that you will definitely get the same flavor of traditional Hyderabadi dum biryani with this recipe.

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Ingredients & Substitutions

• Rice – Use long-grain-aged basmati rice. It has a nice aroma & its long grain looks beautiful after cooking.
• Chicken – You can use either boneless chicken or chicken with bone. Chicken with bone gives more flavors to the dish.
• Herbs – Coriander leaves & mint leaves. Coriander leaves give this dish a fresh aroma. Chicken biryani is a spicy dish & mint leaves give a cooling effect to the body.
• Spice powders – Turmeric powder, red chili powder & biryani masala powder.
• Curd/Yogurt – Use fresh curd. It tastes sweet.
• Ginger garlic paste         
• Onion – We need onions to make fried onions (popularly known as birista). If you are using store-bought birista then skip it.
• Lemon juice
• Green chilies – You can skip adding green chilies to make it less spicy.
• Salt to taste
• Oil – You can use any cooking oil that does not have a strong aroma.
• Whole spices – Caraway seeds, green cardamom, black cardamom, cinnamon. If you do not have caraway seeds then skip it. But add cinnamon & cardamom.
• Saffron milk – a pinch of saffron soaked in 1/4 cup hot milk. If you do not have saffron then add ¼ cup of plain milk or ¼ cup of water.
• Kewra essence (optional) – Gives a nice aroma to the dish. If you do not have it, skip it.
• Ghee/clarified butter – It makes the biryani rice nice & moist. Also, the authentic flavor of chicken biryani is incomplete without it. Do not skip it.

For the detailed list of ingredients & their measurements, please check out the recipe card below.

Tips to make the best Hyderabadi biryani

1. The curd/yogurt should not be too thick or thin. Make use of fresh curd. Do not use lemon juice if using sour curd.
2. Rinse the rice well with water until the cloudiness of water is gone. It will remove the excess starch from it that may cause the rice grains to be sticky.
3. Soaking the basmati rice is an important step. It cuts down the cooking time of rice and makes the rice grains long when cooked.
4. While frying the onions for making birista, do not put too much onion in the oil. It will reduce the temperature of the oil. Also, make sure the oil is hot otherwise the onion slices will not be crispy.
5. Also, after frying the onions, do not stack the onions one on another otherwise, the onions will not be crisp. Spread it evenly on a plate.
6. Chicken biryani is incomplete without ghee/clarified butter.
7. Don’t skip adding ghee while layering the rice in the biryani pot. Ghee keeps the rice moist & soft. Also, the addition of ghee increases the flavor too.
8. Use a thick bottom pan for making this dish. Or you can place it over a heated iron griddle or Tawa if you do not have a heavy bottom pan.
9. You can add a few drops of rose or kewra essence while layering the rice. Make sure to add only 2-3 drops. Check how concentrated is your essence first and then add it accordingly. Otherwise, it will spoil your dish completely by overpowering its flavor.
10. Seal the biryani pot properly. If the steam will escape, you will never get the biryani right. Either it will result in dry rice or the biryani rice sticking to the bottom of the pot.
11. After sealing, if you find the steam is escaping from any side, stick the dough on that side & seal it again. Alternatively, you can seal the pot with Aluminum foil too.
12. If you have a heavy lid that will not let the steam escape, you can use that to cover the pot. No need to seal the pot.
13. I noted down the exact cooking time for the dum process while preparing this Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani recipe. Please follow the timings exactly.

Step by step instructions with photos

Preparations

• Soaking the basmati rice – Wash & soak basmati rice in water for 30 minutes to 1 hour. This step is important don’t skip it. Drain the water from the rice. Keep it aside. (image 1 & 2)
• Preparing fried onions or birista – Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the onion slices in batches. Fry until they start to become light golden in color. But be careful don’t burn them otherwise it will taste bitter. Remove and drain out the excess oil on a kitchen tissue. Reserve the oil that we used for frying the onions, it will be used in marinating the chicken. (image 3 & 4)
• Marinate the chicken -In a large bowl, take chicken pieces, & add the ingredients mentioned under the heading marinating the chicken & mix. Marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight. The longer you marinate the chicken, the better it will taste. (image 5 & 6)

  

• Cooking rice – Boil 7 cups of water in a vessel and add salt & whole spices. Add rice to boiling water (image 7). Cook for 5 minutes or until the water comes up to a boil again (image 8). Check the rice (80% cooked or not). If you press them they will split. It means they have a slight bite in them & not completely cooked (image 9). Drain off the water from the rice. Keep it aside (image 10).

  

Making Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani

1. In a heavy bottom vessel, apply some oil to coat the base of the vessel.
2. Add the marinated chicken to the base of the vessel. Spread it evenly. (image 11)
3. Sprinkle some fried onions over it. (image 12)
4. Now layer the partially cooked basmati rice. Spread it evenly. (image 13)
5. Over it, sprinkle biryani masala powder, fried onions, coriander leaves, mint leaves, kewra essence (optional), saffron milk & ghee. (image 14)
6. Cover with a lid.

   

Dum Cooking the biryani

1. Make wheat flour dough by mixing wheat flour and water.
2. Seal the lid of the biryani pot with the dough. (image 15)
3. If you have a tight-fitting lid then you can skip this step.
4. Switch on the heat. First 15 minutes cook at medium flame.
5. Next 7 minutes, cook on low flame. (image 16)
6. At the same time, on the other burner keep a Tawa/griddle to heat up. (image 17)
7. Now place the pot on the heated Tawa/griddle. (image 18)
8. Cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes.
9. Lower the heat and cook it for 10 minutes. Switch off the flame. Remove from the heat & set it aside for 10 minutes. Biryani is ready now.

   

10. Remove the seal carefully. Make sure to do it slowly if you are doing it for the first time. The sealed dough will become hard after cooking.
11. Slowly open the lid with a knife. The time you open the lid the aroma of all the spices will fill your home. (image 19)
12. Check at the base of the pot. If there is any gravy or moisture then heat the biryani vessel over a low heat until the gravy dries up. (image 21 & 22)
13. Enjoy this Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani with Raita or Mirchi ka Salan, onion slices & lemon wedge this weekend.

    

Recipe FAQs

Storage suggestions

1. Leftover biryani can be stored in an airtight container. Let it come to room temperature before storing it.
2. Place it in the freezer. Stays good for 2 weeks.
3. When needed just thaw it. Take it out in a microwave-safe bowl/plate. Sprinkle some water over it & reheat it in the microwave.
4. Store it in small portions & take out the quantity that you are ready to consume. Reheat only that portion.
5. Do not reheat the biryani again & again. It will lose the flavors, texture & aroma.
6. Use the leftovers within 2 days, if stored in the refrigerator.

If you make this Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani recipe, please leave a comment and a starred review below.

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