Hyderabad Chicken Biryani

Making a good chicken biryani is just very simple and this recipe is perfect for a home preparation. This is easier than any dum biryani since it needs no sauting of spices or meat. Just mix all the ingredients and cook on a slow dum process, trapping the steam to retain the aroma. To get an authentic flavor and taste, do use all the mentioned ingredients and if desired can substitute ghee for oil. This is one of the best hyderabadi chicken biryani recipe i have made for years and it is very easy and even a beginner can try without any troubles. Chicken can be marinated the previous night and refrigerated to make the best flavorful biryani.

Ingredients

• Add all the marination ingredients to a bowl. Mix them well to make a paste.
• Marinate the chicken with the prepared yogurt and masala paste prepared in step 1. Allow it to sit for overnight in the fridge or for at least 2 hours.
• Add dry spices to a pot of boiling water along with few drops of oil. You can add the dry spices to a muslin cloth and make a knot if u don’t like to get a bite of the spices.Add soaked rice and cook till 3/4 cooked. The rice must be grainy.
• Add the marinade to a heavy bottom pot. Sprinkle fried onions, chilies, coriander and mint leaves. Add oil and mix it.
• Layer the rice over the chicken.
• Add fried onions, mint and coriander leaves. Sprinkle biryani masala.
• Layer the rice again.
• Sprinkle fried onions, mint and coriander leaves and biryani masala. Pour the saffron milk.
• Use a foil to cover the rim. You can also use a thick clean kitchen cloth. or make dough and stick to the rim of the pot.
• Cover the pot with a lid. If using dough. make sure the lid sits on the dough.
• Place the pot over a hot old tawa. Cook on a medium high for about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Lower the flame to very low and cook for another 15 minutes. Switch off the stove and let it rest for sometime
  Flavorful dum biryani is ready.
• Fluff up the rice gently and serve with one of these mint raita, Cucumber raita, onion raita, shorba/sherva,
  simla mirch ka salan.