Hyderabadi Dum biriyani!

Whenever we head to NJ, we have made it a point not to miss 'paradise biriyani'. It is by far the best dum biriyani I have had! Spicy and chatak! :)


Considering we Bostonions or should I say Tyngsborough-nions ( now thats a mouthful!) do not have the good luck of indian restaurants in the Mass area, I had taken on the project to bring good indian food home!
In one such mission, I had tried my friend Annie's dum biriyani recipe. Over the many times i made it, I have made addendums and improvised it... So here's the recipe, inspired by Ann's --

Ingredients

chicken - leg pieces - 5 or 6 OR 2 thighs cut in cubes


If its leg pieces, go for the smaller size of chicklets. otherwise chicken thighs should work fine(Sush had given a tip about thighs being better than breasts! ... I am sure that argument doesn't hold ground for anything other than chicken (it was a non-veg joke! sigh!)


Pudina/mint - 7 to 8 sprigs.
dhania/coriander - one handful bunch
Green chillies - around 8
thick curds - 2 cups
garlic pods - 5 to 6
egg - 1
ginger -3/4 inch cube
Garam masala
Chilly powder
Basmati rice - 3 cups
Onions - 2 big
coconut milk - 2 Tbsp

Procedure

( I )Preparing the marinade
1. Beat the curd smooth. Plop the egg into it and wisk it well. The egg makes the chicken softer.
2. Grind garlic, ginger, coriander, pudina, green chilles into a thick coarse chutney like consistency. Do not add water. 

(careful not to add more than 1 or 2 pudina sprigs at this stage, else the biriyani will be very minty)

3. Add this green paste to the beaten curd-egg mixture.
4. Add 2 tsps of chilly powder and 2 tablespoons of garam masala powder and required salt to the mixture.
5. Now add the chicken to this marinade and let it sit for atleast 2 hours!


( II ) In the mean time -
1. Cut one and half onions finely criss cross. Cut the remaining half length-wise.
2. Cut a few strands of coriander and 3 to 4 sprigs of pudina.
3. Soak the 3 cups of Basmati rice.


(III) Once the marinade has sat for almost 2 hours -
1. Add little oil to a low bottom vessel.
2. Add jeera and sompf to the oil. Once they sizzle, add the finely cut onions.
3. Once the onions are fried to golden brown, add the chicken marinade.
4. Let it sit on the stove for atleast 15 to 20 minutes, while you intermittently mix it.


(IV) While the chicken marinade cooks -
1. In a heavy bottom vessel, add a little ghee.
2. Fry lightly--3 to 4 cardamom pods, black cardamom, half inch cinnamon stick, 1 or 2 cloves, star anise and 3 or 4 pudina leaves
3. To this add sufficient water, may be 2 to 3 cups, depending on the size of your vessel.
4. Add 2 Tbsps of coconut milk to this.
5. Add necessary salt. Don't forget the salt at this stage, otherwise, you can never mix the rice with salt later on.
5. Drain the soaked Basmati rice and reserve.
6. Once the water boils, add the basmati rice to it.
7. Keep checking to see how much the rice has cooked. Once it is half cooked, take it off the gas stove and drain immediately. Usually this takes 5 minutes from the time the water boils.
8. Fork the drained basmati with a dallop of ghee.
9. Preheat the oven to 350.


(V) Once the chicken marinade is 3/4th cooked and the curd gravy sufficiently reduced -
1. In a long flat baking dish, smear the bottom surface with a thin layer of ghee.
2. Pour the 3/4th cooked chicken marinade to the dish.
3. Spread the coriander and punida cut in step II on top of the marinade.
4. Evenly spread the drained and forked half cooked Basmati on top of this chicken gravy.
6. Now fry the onions cut length wise in step II, until they are deep brown and semi-crispy. Spread them on top of the spread basmati.
7. Dribble a little color powder on top of the rice (optional).
8. The oven should have attained the 350 mark by now. Cover the layered biriyani with aluminum foil and let it bake in the oven for 20 to 25 min.
9. Once you take it out of the oven, take a pic to post on facebook (optional) ;)
10. Mix the cooked rice and marinade layers nicely, but careful not to break the rice too much.


Serve hot with mirchi ka salan and raita :)


Other options --

1. Boil eggs and insert them into the biriyani layers before placing in the oven.
2. Add ghee fried cashews and curry leaves to top the biriyani, if you are cooking it for a guest! You don't want the empty calories :)
3. My MIL adds all the left over uncuttable whole chicken bits into the marinade. It simply adds to the flavor, but cannot be eaten. I for one, hate bones, so avoid it!


Though I agree, its a makeshift for dum..Since there is no dum except for a convention oven, the taste doesn't disappoint at all ! :)


For the vegetarian version -
1. No marination required.
2. Start at step II
3. Fry the onions, followed by 2 tomatoes finely cut. Add the garam masala and chilly powder and the green paste made in step I. Add the veggies. Add the curd. Let the gravy be only half or 1/4th cooked before pouring it into the baking dish!
4. Remaining steps are the same!


The recipe serves 4 ravenous adults or 6 adults mildly hungry! :)


This is one of the easiest recipes, if you haven't ventured into non-veg cooking, or you wish to cook it for your better half, like I did! Since, I am not a fan of the chicken in the biriyani, though I love the rest of the biryani, I get N to cut and marinate the chicken for me! The rest is easy work!!


Hope the recipe helps.! Let me know if you tried it!
And I definitely dare the vegetarians to resist the urge to try this awesome dish! :)


Happy eating! :)