Chicken Dum Biryani

Chicken Dum  Biryani

It’s a delicious homemade  dum biryani and made of Fortune long grain biryani rice.

Serves: 3

Ingredients

For the rice:

2 cups / 400 ml (Indian standard measuring cup of  200 ml capacity) Fortune long  grain biryani rice

4 cloves

4 cardamoms

2 cinnamon sticks

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon lemon juice

8 cups water

Boil water and cook rice with above ingredients. Strain rice when it’s almost done. Please do not overcook the rice.

Or Rice cooker method

Boil 3 ½ cup water with above ingredients (1 ¾ cup water required to make 1 cup of the rice). Once the water boils vigorously, add rice and cook till done. If using a rice cooker, no need to strain water. Please measure and add water.

For the curry:

2 tablespoon oil

4 cloves

4 cardamoms

2 cinnamon stick

3 onions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoon ginger –garlic paste (make a paste of  1- inch ginger and 10 garlic cloves)

¾ teaspoon red chilli powder

1 ½ teaspoon coriander powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tomato, cut into cubes

500 g chicken (biryani cut)

4 tablespoon chopped coriander and mint leaves (reserve extra 4 tablespoon chopped coriander and mint leaves for dum preparation)

6 tablespoons  fresh &thick  curd or 100 ml thick curd (please do not dilute with water)

¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Juice of a lemon (or 2 teaspoons) (Please do not miss this ingredient)

Method

Wash and clean chicken pieces. Drain out water and keep aside.

In a small bowl, dilute red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder in 2 tablespoon water and keep aside.

Heat oil in a cooking pan on medium heat. Add cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. Fry on medium heat until fragrant.

Add sliced onion and cook till golden color.

Add ginger garlic paste and stir well on a low heat until the raw smell disappears.

Add diluted spice mix and stir well for 2 – 3 minutes until the water absorbs completely.

Add tomato cubes and stir well for 5 minutes.

Finally and chicken pieces, chopped mint and coriander leaves, 6 tablespoons of thick curd and salt to taste. Mix well. ( Do not add water – This’s  very important). Cover with a tight lid and cook on a medium heat for 30 – 40 minutes until the curry is done / chicken well cooked. Switch off the heat. Finally, add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and mix well.

For the dum preparation:

Ingredients

Maida dough (to seal  the cooking pot)

4 tablespoon chopped mint and coriander leaves

1 big iron kadai

1 biryani pot (or any other stainless steel pot with a tight lid)

4 teaspoon ghee

1 wet cotton towel

Method

In a biryani pot, add 1 teaspoon ghee. Spread it evenly. Spread 2 ladleful of chicken curry. Sprinkle some chopped coriander and mint leaves. Spread 1/3 rd portion of the cooked rice over it. Repeat this process until all the ingredients used up.  Sprinkle remaining ghee. Finally, put a wet cotton cloth over it. Wet cloth helps to retain the aroma of biryani. Cover with a tight lid and seal with maida dough.

Heat an iron kadai on medium heat. Place sealed cooking pot over it and cook on a medium heat for 30 minutes. Switch off the heat. Open dum  (seal) after 20 minutes. Serve delicious chicken biryani with raita / dates chutney / pappadam …. Sprinkle fried cashew nuts and raisins (optional).