Chicken Dum Biryani Recipe Step by Step

Chicken dum biryani recipe: chicken biryani using ‘dum’ method is probably the longest standing recipe in my to-make list.

While a quick chicken biryani is sufficiently satisfying, dum biryani is really special, especially when meat is involved. I hope this very detailed step by step recipe to make chicken dum biryani helps you, even if you are not a very skilled cook. I actually made this for the first time using this recipe and it came out perfect in the first attempt.

Because I apparently like suffering in the kitchen in tropical Singapore, I set aside a full morning to make this chicken dum biryani and vegetable dum biryani simultaneously. While it may seem like a LOT of work, which it is, a lot of the preparation work can be done in one go, like slicing onions, soaking and cooking the rice, grinding the garlic, ginger, and chillies, soaking the saffron, etc.

Ironically, making chicken dum biryani is quicker and easier than the vegetarian version because of a lot less cleaning and chopping of vegetables. The only thing that needs some advance preparation is the marination of the chicken, a step I would not recommend skipping because that’s what make the chicken super tender and hold its own when dum cooking the biryani.

Biryani lovers like us? I insist you check out these recipes pronto:
Hyderabadi veg dum biryani
Spicy egg biryani
Soya chunks biryani
Gobi biryani

If you really want to prepare this chicken dum biryani recipe the right way, I have one request. Even if you may not be the hugest fan of spending a lot of time in the kitchen, do not skip any steps mentioned here. To prepare better and save time, I’d follow these steps in order.

Marinate the chicken the night before you are making the biryani
Next day, wash and soak the rice first for 30 minutes
When the rice is soaking, chop the onions, grind the spices, soak some saffron in warm milk, etc
Start frying the onions. This takes some time so keep the flame medium-low and check back as you simultaneously move to the next step
Cook the rice in an open pot in boiling water with some added spices and salt
Check on the onions and when fried, drain and set aside. Fry cashew nuts and raisins in the same ghee
Check the rice and drain in a colander once done
Bring our your marinated chicken
Layer rice, chicken, saffron milk, mint, coriander, and cook on a very low flame using dum method

Alright then, we are all set for the detailed recipe on how to make chicken dum biryani, so let’s get right to it.

Step by Step Chicken Dum Biryani Recipe

Wash the chicken pieces and place in a bowl or a ziplock bag. I find ziplock bags great to marinate meat because its flexible and the marinade gets into the pieces much better

In a blender or mixer jar, add all the ingredients needed for marination + salt. Grind coarsely.

Add to the chicken pieces, mix well, and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight

Next morning, wash and soak 1 cup basmati rice in enough water to completely cover it for 30 minutes

In the meantime, chop your onions

and powder the spices for biryani masala coarsely

Soak a pinch of saffron in 3 tbsp warm milk and set aside

Heat 1/4 cup ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan with a tight-fitting lid. This is the same pan we will use to cook the dum biryani

Add the sliced onions and keep flame at medium-low. Stir frequently to ensure even frying (ignore that the pans are different, I made vegetable dum biryani and chicken dum biryani simultaneously and did a bunch of prep work in conjunction)

While the onions are frying, keep water in a large pot for cooking the rice. Bring the water to a rolling boil and add 1 tsp caraway seeds (shahjeera), 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp oil, and some salt

Add the soaked rice to this.

Cook on medium-high heat until the rice is 3/4 cooked. When you take out one grain and bite into it, it shouldn’t be mushy or cooked fully

While the rice is cooking, keep an eye on the onions and drain when they are fully dark brown

In the same ghee, fry the cashew nuts, drain and then fry the raisins and drain.

Set aside until needed.

The rice should now be done. Drain the rice in a colander and fluff it with a fork

Now, in the same pan used for frying the onions, top up the remaining 1/4 cup ghee (see notes). Add the marinated chicken pieces and mix well.

Let this cook for 30 seconds. Then add the freshly ground whole spices spices or biryani masala and fry for another minute or so.

Add 1 tbsp each of chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves on top. Mix well to combine.

Layer the cooked rice over the chicken. Yes, the chicken is still raw, our dum cooking will cook it perfectly in about 15-20 minutes so this is fine.

Top up with fried onion, cashew nuts, raisins, coriander leaves, and mint leaves

Pour the saffron milk mixture on top

There are different methods to ensure we provide a dum cooking environment for the biryani. I used aluminium foil and closely covered the cooking pan, taking care of the handle area first

Then, I closed the pan tightly with its lid

Keep the heat to lowest possible and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Since the lid wasn’t super tight, I placed some weight over it.

Cook on very low flame for 15-20 minutes.

Once done, uncover and gently combine the layers so that the spices get mixed with the rice

Serve chicken dum biryani with raita and brinjal salan.

Notes:

– Adjust chilli powder and green chilli to your taste when marinating the chicken. This amount makes a reasonably spicy biryani which suits our palates. The other spices I have used is also on the heavy side so adjust accordingly for a milder flavour
– The amount of ghee in this recipe is generous. I usually add this much to ensure the biryani doesn’t get burned at the bottom during dum cooking and also so it stores well. You can add lesser or even add 1/2 ghee + 1/2 oil
– Do not skip soaking the rice. Soaking basmati rice ensures that it absorbs water during the soaking process and not too much during the cooking process which ensures more evenly cooked, firmer rice grains that remain separate. The best basmati rice for biryani, in my experience, is Kohinoor or India Gate
– Do not skip the fried onions. It’s absolutely essential to bring the right flavour to dum biryani or any biryani for that matter
– The raisins are optional. My mom also adds chopped pineapple sometimes.
– The spices you use for making the biryani masala is up to you. I would recommend to use cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and bay leaf as a bare minimum.
– The caraway seeds (shahjeera) have a stronger flavour than cumin and taste great in biryani. If you don’t have any or don’t want to use them, you can just add more cumin to the spice powder and while cooking the rice (or simply omit it)
– Make sure to season the rice with salt when cooking it. This way you can ensure the biryani will be more uniformly salted
– Add some lime juice at the end for some sourness. My chicken dum biryani recipe doesn’t include tomatoes but you can add some to the vegetables while they cook if you prefer
– Do not skimp on coriander and mint leaves. Buy them fresh and use generously.

For chicken dum biryani recipe in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Urdu, Marathi, etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar

If you try this biryani recipe, please leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts. You can also share pictures on Twitter and Instagram and tag them with #ediblegarden – I’d love to check them out!