Aromatic rice, marinated chicken, fried onions, and irresistible spices come together to create this classic dish: chicken dum biryani. While the process may seem lengthy, this step-by-step recipe is extremely easy to follow, making this rice dish usually enjoyed in restaurants, the perfect meal to prepare at home. Enjoy this chicken dum biryani recipe with some fresh raita, mixed pickle, and papadoms for the full experience!
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Juicy marinated chicken thighs, fried potatoes, and eggs are all united in one dish to create this delicious dum biryani.
While these may sound like many flavors when added all together, the truth is that I first tried such a rich biryani in a restaurant during Eid, and that was me hooked.
Every single bite offered a new and different experience, and when adding a bit of cucumber raita, or a little piece of crunchy papadom, or some pickle, it was like it was a whole new dish once again.
Now, because it's not Eid every day, and because there is no way I can go to eat this in a restaurant weekly when there are SO many other chicken or rice dishes I want to try, I worked out a way of making this at home, in an easy way, while maintaining the flavors of this restaurant-style chicken dum biryani recipe.
In addition, because we live in an era in which we LOVE to document every single thing we do and eat, here's a picture of a biryani Jay, my mother, and I, ate on the rooftop of our hotel in Delhi when we visited back in 2015.
We still talk about that hotel experience and what a good time we had, so why not share this delicious bowl of chicken dum biryani with grate egg on top here? Pardon the poor-quality image!
Chicken Dum Biryani Ingredients
- Rice: You will want white Basmati rice for this dish, as this long grain rice is fragrant and commonly used in this recipe.
- Whole Indian Spices: Cardamom, Bay Leaves, Cinnamon Sticks, Mace, Cloves, and Black Peppercorns are all used to flavor this delicious rice dish.
- Eggs, Potatoes, Chicken Thighs: These three ingredients, together with the rice, make up the bulk of this dish. Should you prefer, you can skip either the eggs or the potatoes, or both.
- Ghee: Would it be a biryani without ghee? If you don't have it, you could substitute it for a little butter, although they don't taste the same.
- Saffron Strands, and Milk: These ingredients are used to make saffron milk and give the chicken biryani its famous aromatic smell. Can be skipped, but the end result will vary slightly.
- Onions: Better to do extra brown onions than less. These elevate the dish to a whole other level and are a must.
- Yogurt, Ginger Garlic Paste, Turmeric Powder, Red Chili Powder, Tomato: These are used to marinate the chicken and make part of the base for the dum biryani. Simple ingredients that flavor the whole dish. Ensure you use full-fat natural yogurt for this, as it cooks better.
- Cilantro [Fresh Coriander]: To add in-between layers, the use of it and its quantity can be amended depending on preference.
- Oil: For cooking and frying the onions. Choose a flavorless vegetable oil, such as sunflower.
- Salt to Taste
How to make dum biryani?
Dum Biryani Preparation
- ONIONS: These will need to be julienned and cooked in sunflower oil until nicely browned and caramelized.
- CHICKEN: The chicken thighs need to be marinated with yogurt, spices, tomato, and some of the caramelized onions.
- SAFFRON MILK: Warm up the milk for thirty seconds in a bowl in the microwave and add the saffron strands to it; set the mixture aside.
- EGGS: The eggs will need to be boiled, peeled, and slit on the sides.
- SOAK AND BOIL THE RICE: After soaking the long grain basmati rice, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil with the whole masalas of choice, add the rice and cook it until it is three-quarters done. Drain the rice and leave it in the strainer so the water continues to drain.
Starting to cook the ingredients
- To a wide saucepan, add sunflower oil and heat on low heat. Once warm add the whole masalas and allow the oil to flavor for 30 seconds.
- Increase the heat to medium and add the potatoes and brown them for 4-5 minutes.
- Once all the sides of the potatoes have browned, add the marinated chicken (including all the marinade) always on medium heat. Cook the chicken mix for 3 minutes, then add half a cup of water.
- Mix well the water in the chicken biryani curry and put a lid on the pan; allow the chicken to cook on a low to medium flame until ready – this will take about ten more minutes.
- At this stage, remove the lid and add the eggs to the chicken biryani curry, mixing them well in it, to absorb its flavor.
Layer the Chicken Dum Biryani
- Turn the heat off under the pan and straight away assemble the two top layers of the chicken biryani by adding one-third of the chopped cilantro [fresh coriander] on top of the curry and half of the rice.
- On top of the rice add half of the remaining fried onions, half of the remaining cilantro, and then add the remaining rice.
- On top of the last layer of rice add the remaining fried onions, chopped cilantro, ghee, and saffron milk (including the strands).
Finish cooking the biryani
- Apply the lid on top of the pot and seal any holes the lid has with a piece of foil or a little chapatti dough.
- Next, put the dum biryani pot on a high flame – cook it this way for 8 minutes.
- After exactly eight minutes, turn the heat to low and cook for a further two minutes.
- After two minutes, turn the heat off and allow the dum biryani to sit with the lid on and the heat off for 10 minutes, before removing the lid and opening it.
People Also Ask [FAQs]
The word biryani comes from the Farsi word 'birian', which translates from the Persian language as 'fried before cooking'. This should come to no surprise, as back in the days, the long grain basmati rice used to be fried in ghee before being cooked.
It is very unclear where exactly this dish was first invented; many believe it comes from multiple Muslim centers in Northern India, like Delhi, Lucknow, and Rampur, while others believe it is a Southern Indian dish (Hyderabadi chicken dum Biryani and Thalassery Biryani are very famous), as rice is much more used in this part of the country, however, because of the origin of the word, many believe it may come from Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
There are two types of dum biryani, with one being the Kachi method, and the other being the Pakki method.
The kachi method implies adding all the ingredients to the pot at the same point of the cooking process, while still raw.
The Pakki method instead involves partially cooking the chicken with the biryani masala in one pot, and the rice in another, to then finish cooking them together, once layered with the other ingredients.
The common part of the two methods is the 'dum' part.
The word dum derives from the Persian word Dumpukht, which literally translates to baked, or air-fried.
For dum cooking, once all the ingredients are in the cooking pot, this is sealed completely and put on the heat, to allow all the ingredients to cook or finish cooking.
How to store chicken biryani?
- In the fridge: This chicken biryani can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days.
- In the freezer: You can freeze the biryani in freezable sealed bags or an airtight container for up to three months. Fully thaw the chicken biryani in the fridge overnight, before heating it thoroughly and serving it.
What to serve with chicken biryani?
This biryani recipe is a full meal per se so it can be eaten on its own.
Should you wish, it can be served with some pickle, fried papadoms, vegetable raita, a little green chutney with yogurt, or thinly sliced onions dressed with lemon or lime juice.
Tips and Tricks for Chicken Dum Biryani Recipe
- Long Grain Rice: Always use long grain rice when following a biryani recipe. Basmati rice is ideal, and it is the traditional type used.
- Cooked Basmati Rice Layers: When layering the rice in the biryani, ensure you don't press the grains together. Use a large spoon to spread it evenly and always leave airgaps for the steam to pass and leave the rice fragrant.
- Whole Spices: For the chicken marinade and the curry base this chicken biryani recipe calls for cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, mace, cloves, and black peppercorns. These all balance each other well, as some are sweet, others are spicy, and some are aromatic. Should you wish, you can add other whole spices, such as cumin seeds, fennel seeds, or star anise, but ensure to balance the recipe out. If using star anise, only add half for each stage.
- Black Pepper: Should you not have black peppercorns, then you can use ¼ teaspoon of black pepper powder in the marinade for the chicken while skipping it while cooking the biryani rice.
- Biryani Masala: There are many brands that offer pre-made biryani masala to use as a chicken marinade or to add to the mix. This recipe is very simple and only requires red chili powder and turmeric powder together with your choice of whole spices, while the boxed options add garam masala, coriander powder, cardamom powder, and others in the pre-prepared spice powder. This is not necessary and I would suggest keeping it as simple as possible, as this chicken biryani recipe is already flavorful enough.
- Chicken: If possible, opt for skinless chicken on the bone, as this has a higher fat amount, and it will remain tender and juicy throughout the cooking process.
- Herbs: While this recipe calls for fresh cilantro leaves [coriander], feel free to add a few mint leaves too for freshness, but don't overdo it, as these are quite strong.
- Cooking Oil: Opt for flavorless vegetable oil, such as sunflower, as there is no need to add more strong flavors to the biryani recipe.
- Reheating: If you have been storing your chicken biryani in the fridge, simply warm up a little vegetable oil or ghee in a pan, then add your biryani and sautee it until thoroughly heated. It will look more like the picture below and it will be the best leftovers you ever had!
Chicken biryani is undoubtedly one of the most famous and loved rice and chicken recipes.
Each layer is full of flavor, and, while it may look like such lush dishes are hard to prepare at home, that is not the case for this bowlful of joy.
I hope you do give this yummy recipe a go, and if you do, it would be great to hear your thoughts!
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🍽️ Recipe
Easy and Tasty Chicken Dum Biryani Recipe
Ingredients
For the fried onions
- 4 tablespoon Sunflower Oil or Vegetable Oil
- 450 g Red Onions Julienned
For the chicken and its marinade
- 300 g Skinless Chicken Thighs Diced, on the bone
- 50 g Full-Fat Natural Yogurt
- 1 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
- Salt to Taste
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- ½ teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- 1 Large Tomato Chopped
For the saffron milk
- 50 ml Milk
- 10 Saffron Strands
For the aromatic rice
- 450 g White Basmati Rice
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 4 Black Peppercorns
- ½ Piece of Mace
- ¼ inc Cinnamon Stick
- 3 Green Cardamoms Can use 2 green and 1 black cardamom if liked
- 3 Cloves
Other Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Sunflower Oil or Vegetable Oil
- 300 g White Potatoes Peeled and Diced
- 10 g Cilantro Fresh Coriander, Thinly Chopped
- 2 Eggs
- 4 tablespoon Ghee
Whole spices to start the biryani
- 1 Bay Leaves
- 4 Black Peppercorns
- ½ Piece of Mace
- ¼ inch Cinnamon Stick
- 3 Green Cardamoms Can use 2 green and 1 black cardamom if liked
- 3 Cloves
Instructions
Preparation stages
- ONIONS: Start by shallow frying the julienned red onions in the sunflower oil until brown. Remove the browned onions from the oil with a skimmer and put them on a paper towel, so as much oil as possible is removed.
- CHICKEN: In a large bowl, add the chicken, yogurt, ginger garlic paste, salt, turmeric, red chili powder, chopped tomato, and half of the fried onion just prepared and mix well, until uniform. Set the chicken aside and allow to marinate while preparing the other ingredients.
- SAFFRON MILK: Warm up the milk for thirty seconds in a bowl in the microwave and add the saffron strands to it; set the mixture aside.
- EGGS: In a pot full of water, boil the eggs until they are hard-boiled. Cool them down under cold water, peel them, make some gashes on their sides (three or four each), and set them aside.
- RICE SOAKING: After rinsing the rice three times, soak it for the biryani in plenty of room temperature water for fifteen minutes. Do not over soak the rice as this will make it mushy in the biryani.
- BOIL THE RICE: Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil with the whole masalas of choice [the spices in the list for the aromatic rice] once the water boils, add the basmati rice and cook it until it is three quarters done. If your basmati rice needs 11-12 minutes to fully cook, boil it for 7-8 minutes.Once it is three quarters cooked, strain it and cool it down under cold water. Leave it in the strainer, so it remains fragrant while continuing to release the excess water.
Assemble the dum biryani
- Choose a wide and not too deep saucepan for which you have a lid to assemble your dum biryani in.
- To the saucepan, add the sunflower oil and heat on low heat. Once warm add the whole masalas from thw whole spices to start the biryani list: cardamoms, cloves, mace, cinnamon, peppercorns, and bay leaves) and allow to flavor for 30 seconds.
- Increase the heat to medium and add the potatoes; allw the potatoes to brown, frying them on all their sides. This will take about 4-5 minutes.
- Once all the sides of the potatoes have browned, add the marinated chicken (including all the marinade) and mix well, keeping it on a medium flame. Cook the chicken mix for 3 minutes, then add half a cup of water.
- Mix well the water in the biryani curry and put a lid on the pan; allow the chicken to cook on a low to medium flame until ready – this will take about ten more minutes.
- At this stage, remove the lid and add the eggs to the biryani curry, mixing them well in it, to absorb its flavor.
Assemble the rice layers
- Turn the heat off under the pan and straight away assemble the two top layers of the biryani.
- Add one-third of the chopped cilantro [fresh coriander] on top of the curry and half of the rice.
- IMPORTANT: You mustn't press the rice to even it out on the surface. Use a large spoon to spread it evenly in the pan, but leave air gaps in between grains.
- On top of the rice add half of the remaining fried onions, half of the remaining cilantro [fresh coriander], and then add the remaining rice, the same as described above.
- On top of the last layer of rice add the remaining fried onions, chopped cilantro [fresh coriander], ghee, and saffron milk (including the strands).
Finish cooking the biryani
- Apply the lid on top of the biryani pot and seal any holes the lid has with a piece of foil or a little chapatti dough.
- Next, put the biryani pot on a high flame – cook it this way for 8 minutes.
- After exactly eight minutes, turn the heat to low and cook for a further two minutes.
- After two minutes, turn the heat off and allow the biryani to sit with the lid on and the heat off for 10 minutes, before removing the lid and opening it.
Notes
- It is important to ‘open’ the biryani as this will allow the rice to remain fragrant: to do so, you serve the whole biryani straight away, or you can choose a large serving plate, where you can spread the rice and allow the steam to be released, so it can cool down and you can store the biryani away to eat later on, after warming it up again.
- Storing: The dum biryani can be stored in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to three days, and it can also be frozen for up to a month. Before serving again, ensure it has been heated thoroughly.
- Potatoes and Eggs: These ingredients are optional, but using all three gives the extra touch.
- Whole Spice: You can choose the ones you like the most, however it is important there is balance in flavor, between spice and sweetness.
Aliza
What a delicious, Nice recipe, Thanks for sharing. I made this for my family. they liked it so much.
Elle
Thank you, Aliza!
Alex Burn
I never thought Biryani could be so simplified, fantastic results, great post!
Elle
Thanks Alex!