A home recipe for Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani, kacchi style: marinated chicken and part-cooked basmati, sealed and slow-cooked together.
This is the style that made Hyderabad famous: kacchi biryani, where raw, marinated meat goes into the pot under part-cooked rice and the two cook together, sealed, on dum. It is the harder of the two styles, and the most rewarding.
It takes planning more than skill. Marinate the night before, give yourself a quiet hour for the rice and layering, and trust the sealed pot.
Before you start
- Use aged basmati. Older rice is drier and stays in long, separate grains.
- Choose the right pot. A heavy, wide pot spreads heat evenly. Thin pots scorch.
- Fry the onions properly. Deep golden, never black. They give biryani its sweetness. Good shop-bought birista is fine.
- Don’t overcook the rice. It finishes in the steam. If it is soft before it goes into the pot, it will be mushy at the end.
If you’re nervous about kacchi
Use boneless thighs cut into large pieces, or brown the marinated chicken for 10 minutes before layering. That is closer to pakki biryani, and still delicious. Whatever you do, check the temperature before serving.
Why it comes with salan and raita
In Hyderabad, biryani is rarely eaten alone. Mirchi ka salan adds tang and gentle heat, and cool raita balances it. Both recipes are linked below.
Recipe
Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani at home
Ingredients
For the marinade
- 2 lb (900 g) bone-in chicken, cut into 10–12 pieces (thighs and drumsticks are most forgiving)
- 1 cup (240 g) whole-milk yogurt
- 1½ tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp fine salt
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 green chillies, slit
- ½ cup mint leaves and ½ cup coriander leaves, chopped
- 1 cup fried onions (birista), lightly crushed
- 3 tbsp ghee, melted
For the rice
- 2½ cups (500 g) aged long-grain basmati
- 4 green cardamom, 4 cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1-inch cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp shahi jeera (black caraway)
- 1½ tbsp salt for the cooking water
To layer and seal
- A large pinch of saffron soaked in 3 tbsp warm milk
- 2 tbsp ghee
- ½ cup fried onions
- A handful each of mint and coriander leaves
- 1 cup all-purpose flour mixed with water to a stiff dough (or heavy foil)
Method
- Marinate. Mix every marinade ingredient with the chicken, rubbing it into the cuts. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- Soak the rice. Rinse the basmati in several changes of water until it runs almost clear, then soak it for 30 minutes.
- Par-cook the rice. Bring about 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil with the whole spices and salt. The water should taste salty. Add the drained rice and cook for 4–5 minutes, until a grain breaks with a firm white core (about 70% cooked). Drain at once.
- Layer. Spread the chicken and all its marinade in an even layer in a heavy 5–6 quart pot. Spoon the hot rice over it without pressing. Drizzle over the saffron milk and ghee, then scatter the fried onions and herbs.
- Seal. Press a rope of dough around the rim and set the lid on it to seal. If you have no dough, cover tightly with foil, then the lid.
- Cook on dum. Cook over medium-high heat for 6–8 minutes, until you hear the marinade bubbling and steam escapes. Slide a flat griddle or heavy pan under the pot, turn the heat to its lowest setting and cook for 45 minutes.
- Rest and check. Turn off the heat and rest for 10 minutes before breaking the seal. Check the thickest piece of chicken reads 165°F (74°C). If not, reseal and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Serve. Scoop from the side of the pot to bring up rice and chicken together. Serve with mirchi ka salan and raita.
Home-style recipe from the Biryani Pot Indian Bar & Grill Journal. It is not our restaurant's own recipe; for that, visit us.