Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani is an authentic Hyderabadi special rice dish which is a popular Dum Biryani recipe of Chicken from Hyderabad served with kheera raita or cucumber raita or pyaz ka raita or onion raita and Hyderabad is famous for Biryani all across India.
About biryani
My post for today which is the murgh biryani recipe would be dedicated to my home town Hyderabad where I have been born and spent so many years. Being a Hyderabadi I just love Biryani recipes and Biryani recipes are every Hyderabadi delight.
I am sharing the traditional and authentic way of making Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani straight from my kitchen without missing even a single step with every minute detail.
Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani is a very lengthy process but at the same time is the easiest. Once you understand it then you can master the art of making biryani of any kind be it a chicken biryani or mutton biryani or veg biryani.
Related biryani recipes on the blog to check out are mutton biryani, chicken biryani cipe , hyderabadi biryani , pakistani biryani
Biryani is very special to me and very close to my heart and this recipe is something that is often made in every Muslim Household.
The Chicken Dum Biryani which I am sharing today is a very delicious recipe and the steps are so easy to follow.
About biryani making process
Chicken Dum Biryani is a slow cooking process and this process is very essential to bring the perfect flavours out of the dum biryani.
It is a Dum method and it is called so as the chicken marinade and the rice is placed inside the cooking pot and is tightly sealed with a chapathi dough and cooked by not letting the steam come out. By doing so the biryani gets cooked well and also keeps the flavors intact and therefore, its called as 'dum cooking'.
It is very necessary to use fresh herbs and freshly pound garam masala to bring out perfect flavors to the biryani recipe.
The biryani requires many ingredients but if added in sequence then one can never go wrong in making the biryani.
We always make Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani during gatherings and also during every occasion and is served with or Hyderabadi Mirchi Ka Salan Recipe or Bagara Baingan Hyderabadi special.
Biryani is a must dish in every Muslim wedding food platter in Hyderabad and I would love to share this lengthy but easy process with my readers to learn and relish this traditional Hyderabadi dum biryani.
If you would like to make the recipe then plan it out before especially if you are trying it out for the first time. Gather all the ingredients which are required to make this chicken dum biryani.
What other ways it is called as?
It is also called a 'kachi yakhni biryani' as the chicken is not cooked and instead is placed for the dum cooking therefore, it can be called kachi yakhi biryani or dum ki biryani.
The biryani which I am posting here is not too spicy and I have added very few whole spices and if you are looking forward to a spicy biryani then stay tuned and watch this space as I update with lots of biryani recipes with chicken, mutton and vegetarian.
Ingredients
Oil: It is used to deep fry the onions as well as required while giving the dum and also while marinating.
Chicken: Chicken with bones and also tastes good with chicken legs and medium size chicken pieces with bones. Always clean the chicken with salt, turmeric water and lemon to remove any chicken smell from the flesh.
Whole spices: I usually add basic whole spices but additional garam masala such as bay leaf, star anise can be preferred but since this is Hyderabadi style I tried to keep it as authentic as possible.
Yogurt: It is one of the main ingredients used while marinating chicken and this gives the right texture and balanced sour flavor to the rice.
Fried onions: This is also called barista, an essential ingredient to make biryani. Biryani making is incomplete without deep-fried onions. I have shared the recipe of fried onions on the blog which can be checked if having any doubt while frying the onions.
Hara masala: This is a combination of green chilies, cilantro/coriander leaves and mint leaves.
Dry spices: These are required while marinating the chicken and make a difference to the biryani if not added. These dry spices are salt, chilli powder, turmeric, black pepper etc...
Rice: Any rice can be preferred to make this biryani and both taste equally good.
Using them while making dum biryani gives a wonderful flavour to the biryani and my suggestion is to not skip adding them If any of the ingredients should be skipped then try not to add mint leaves if it is not available.
These are the main ingredients and the rest of the ingredients are mentioned in detail below...
Below I would be sharing the detailed recipes of the traditional Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani recipe which has been a special dish of the Nawabs in Hyderabad and has been passing down from generations to generations and takes the first place in Hyderabadi cuisine.
Step by step procedure
- The first step is to take cut chicken pieces, wash them well and drain excess water out. Then add salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, whole spices such as cardamom powder, cinnamon, cloves, shahi jeera, garam masala powder.
- Add Yogurt and green chilli paste. Take some green chillies, few cilantro leaves, add a pinch of salt and make a fine paste. Add green chili paste as per spice requirement.
- Mix everything well.
- Add crushed fried onions.
- Add black peppercorn powder, mint leaves, coriander leaves, oil, lemon extract.
- Mix everything and marinate well for at least 1 to 2 hours in refrigerator.
- Bring the water to a boil by adding whole spices such as cinnamon stick, cloves, shahi jeera, cardamoms, black peppercorns, salt to taste, oil.
- Boil well and add soaked basmati rice rice to the water. Soaking basmati rice for atleast 40 to 45 minutes gives long grain rice.
- Cook the rice until 75% done and strain the rice.
- Place a Tawa. Place a cooking pot on the Tawa. Placing a griddle below the cooking pot avoids burning the biryani at the base. Add little oil at the base, add the marinated chicken, spread evenly.
- Add the strained rice. Spread evenly. Do not make layers. Add all the rice
- Top it with crushed fried onions, chopped coriander and mint leaves, saffron strands soaked in milk,saffron food color, clarified butter/ ghee.
- Cover tightly with aluminium foil. Cover with a lid.
- Dum on high flame for 10 minutes and on low flame for 30 minutes.
- Biryani is ready to serve.
Related Recipes
Video
Recipe
Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani Recipe
Ingredients
To marinate chicken
- 750 gms chicken pieces (clean and wash well)
- salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 2 small cinnamon sticks (dalchini)
- 3 cloves
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder/ elaichi powder
- ½ teaspoon shahi zeera
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ¾ cup yogurt
- 1 teaspoon green chili paste (green chili and coriander leaves blended paste with a pinch of salt)
- ½ cup fried onions (crush and add)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 3-4 chopped mint leaves
- 1 teaspoon lemon extracted juice
- 2 tablespoon coriander leaves
To boil rice
- Basmati Rice 750 gms
- enough water to boil the rice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 6-8 black pepper corns
- ½ teaspoon shahi zeera
- 2 cardamoms
- salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon oil
To garnish during dum
- 2 tablespoon crushed fried onions
- 1 tablespoon chopped coriander and mint leaves
- 2-3 saffron strands soaked in milk
- 2 tablespoon saffron food color
- 1 teaspoon clarified butter/ ghee
Instructions
Chicken Marination
- Add salt to the chicken, red chili powder, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, cinnamon sticks, cloves.
- Also, add cardamom powder, shahi zeera, garam masala powder, yogurt, green chili paste, mix well
- Add crushed fried onions and mix everything well.
- Add black pepper powder, oil, chopped mint leaves, lemon extracted juice, coriander leaves, mix well.
- Cover and Marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 to 2 hours.
Boiling the rice
- Add good amount of water in a cooking pot.
- Add whole spices such as cinnamon stick, cloves, shahi jeera, cardamoms, black peppercorns, salt to taste, oil.
- Bring the water to a boil.
- Add soaked basmati rice into the boiling water.
- Stir in between and cook the rice until 75% done or for about 10 minutes.
- Strain the rice.
Dum procedure
- Place a tawa.
- Place a cooking pot on the tawa.
- Add little oil at the base, add the marianated chicken, spread evenly.
- Add the strained rice.
- Spread evenly.
- Top it with crushed fried onions, chopped coriander and mint leaves, saffron strands soaked in milk, saffron food color, clarified butter/ ghee
- Cover tightly with an aluminium foil.
- Cover with a lid.
- Dum on high flame for 10 minutes and on low flame for 30 minutes.
- Biryani is ready to serve.
Notes
- Using basmati rice while making biryani makes the biryani very delicious.
- Always soak the rice when the period of chicken marination is about to complete.
- Start boiling rice for water when rice has been soaked for about ten minutes.
- Do not cook the rice for a long time as the rice becomes soggy while giving dum.
- The longer the time of marination, the more tastier the chicken would turn out.
- If one is looking for more spicy flavor then the spices can be added more in quantity or can be reduced if less spicy flavor is required.
- Using fresh herbs gives wonderful fragrance to the biryani.
- Always check the salt taste while cooking rice, else the biryani would not get the required taste.
- Another way of giving dum is, the cooking pot should be placed on a high flame and then simmer the flame and place a tawa/griddle below the cooking pot and dum for about 35 minutes.
- Placing a tawa below the cooking vessel prevents the base of the cooking vessel from burning.
Nutrition
Old pictures
kushi says
I will never say no to biryani 🙂 This looks so flavorful and YUM. Rice is cooked to perfection
shailesh chandra says
Very good cooking site
asiya says
Thank you shailesh...
Lafiya says
Are you sure the rice doesn't turn soggy if kept on dum for 45 mins??
asiya says
Good question lafiya and many people face common problem here... The thing is when you are cooking rice do not ever over cook it because when the rice is almost cooked it definitely makes the biryani soggy after you put on dum for a long time...Therefore I suggest you to cook the basmati rice for about 5 minutes and immidiately strain the rice and dum for about 40 minutes...hope i answered your question...
Lafiya says
Assalaam alaikum wrb,
It came out looking absolutely fabulous and tasted utterly delicious! !! Thank you so much Asiya. Five stars to the recipe plus an extra star for your perfect explanation. God bless you.
asiya says
Walekumasssalam thank u so much lafiya...hope u like all our recipes and do keep giving us your feedback for us to improve and bring you the best recipes ...
Naveen says
Best Biriyani recipe ever. Have tried dozens of other recipes but this is the one. Love how the chicken cooks in the dum. Simple to make and tasty as well. Thank you
anamika says
i tried many biriyani recipe but not perfect..
this recipe is awasom...thank u
asiya says
Thanks for such a positive feedback anamika....hope you enjoyed making the recipe....
Sunita Gill says
I love this biryani looks delicious, must try this.
asiya says
Thank you so much Sunita... hope you try and give us the feedback...
Mala says
This recipe is so good and quite simple to follow. Instructions are perfect. My husband has been making it and all our family and friends love it. Thanks Asiya
asiya says
Thanks very much for trying out the biryani and hope you all enjoyed the biryani gathering!!!
Samreen says
Assalaamualaikum Asiya,
I would like to know, when we blend the hara masala paste and add it to the chicken. Will the mint leaves dominate the masala?
asiya says
Walekumassalam Samreen, you have asked an important question as this could make or spoil the biryani....Whenever you blend hara masala make sure mint leaves are not more in quantity than the coriander leaves and green chillies...You can take more of green chillies and coriander leaves but not too much of mint leaves as they play a major role in giving strong pudina flavor to the biryani...I suggest you to make hara masala with less of pudina leaves and do not forget to add salt while making hara masala...Hope I cleared your query and do share your queries regarding this if you have any...Thanks
karen marie says
I wish the video showed the part of the recipe that involves "tightly sealing" the pot with chapathi dough.
asiya says
I agree to your point karen...but you can just place a heavy weight instead of the dough or if you wish you can seal it with dough..The technique is used to avoid steam coming out of the pot...placing a heavy weight too does the trick...
meherunnisa says
Just delicious
asiya says
Thank you...
Vijay says
Hi,
I made this chicken briyani and it came out very yummy, thanks for your recipe, my wife and my son loved it. This is the first time I got the texture and taste right, Thank you so much..
asiya says
Thanks for trying out and your appreciation..do keep visiting our blog for more recipes..
Mythra says
is there any substitute for saffron flavored milk? I didn't get saffron.
asiya says
Yes there is a substitute... we can add orange food color into it...just add a pinch of food color into the milk, mix it up well and pour all over the rice...
Tahseen says
My biryani always tastes different, I still can't get dat fab taste , though I try h haRd, help I have a big family need to cook 2 kg rice biryani may b I get wrong somewhere wid quantity of ingredients I use 2 kg rice 2 kg mutton rest oil kam hojata hai ya zyada rice over cook hogaya to undercooked.
asiya says
Hi Tehseen I understand what you are going through and making a perfect biryani is quite a task. You can take the help of my video procedure of biruani where I have used the masalas for 1 1/2 kg mutton and you can use the same quantity of masalas and a little bit extra as you are using 2 kg mutton. But since you are using 2 kg rice I insist you to add good amount of fried crushed onions as they form the main part in giving the gravy to the chicken marinade and also add around 3/4 kg of yogurt into the marinade. Adjust the spices as per the gravy. Hara masala that is green chilli paste should be made with many chillies approx 12-15 and added to the gravy...
Harish says
My doubt is that is it ok after marinating the chicken will get cooked while putting Dum for 40 minutes on sim flame
asiya says
Harish the chicken if marinated well for longer time the lemon acts as a tenderizing agent.On dum we need to initially put it on high flame for about 15-20 minutes then reduce the flame...do not put on sim flame for the entire 40-45 minutes.Just high up the flame initially then reduce it...
Marina says
Hi asiya, I can across your site when I was searching for bheja fry, which was so simple to cook and also tasted very nice. And I have cooked it quite a few times. Well I have a question regarding chicken biryani.. it is definitely nice. But if I have to cook for only half kg rice.. do I have to halve all the ingredients..will be grateful if you revert.,thanks a lot
Rgds n tk care
Marina
asiya says
Thanks Marina... just reduce all the ingredients of chicken marination to one third of the quantity mentioned in my post...Hope your biryani turns out well...
Mayank Mahajan says
Made my nephews extremely happy. Thanks.
Munshi Asadullah says
Thank you for a great recipe ... I have a question regarding the Dum. Is it possible to do it in the Oven with a thick pot. Please let me know the temperature and duration if such a contraption is possible. Thank you in advance.
asiya says
I would suggest you to use oven tray or bowl and not a cooking pot and add the marinated chicken and rice and tightly seal it. While cooking in oven set the temperature for about 300-350 F and cook for 1 hour..This way your biryani would cook slowly and not dry...
Raj Kumar says
Dear Asiya,
I am thankful to you very much as you clearly narrated the chicken dum biryani recipe which I am planning to start a biryani center for which I have been searching online for the right discription for last few days. Please let me know the exact quantities of all ingredients for a 5 kilo rice to start with. Please also let me know how many kilos of chicken is needed for that 5 kilo rice and how many people we can serve and satisfy with that quantity. Can we use best quality of normal rice in the place of Basmati..? Because here the village folk wont afford cost. Please reply with the details to my email id if pissible with your valuable suggestions in this regard.
Thank you once again for your perfect and reluable discription of recipes.
Regards
Raj Kumar
9177563579
++
asiya says
Hello Raj good luck for your biryani centre... You can use about 4 kg chicken for 5 kg rice... It can serve upto 25 people...The ingredients that I have mentioned can be multiplied to 5 times and added for the biryani...
Raj Kumar says
Dear Asiya
Thank you for your reply n noted. There is a little bit confusion. In preparation of chicken maridation, you said to add 'Whole garam masala' i.e. cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper corn n shahi jeera which you mentioned in chicken marination ingredients. That means, this cambination is called 'Whole garam masala'. Should we add these in raw meterial as they are, or should we make it powder or paste..? And again you told to add 'Garam masala powder' along with lemon juice in the same ingredients section as sr. no. 11. I did not undestand what this is as it seems to me repeated. Please clarify. Actually, I would like to talk to you if you dont mind. Please just give me a missed call to 9989466888 I will call you back at your convenient time.
Thank you very much for your providing a very much useful information.
Raj
++
asiya says
Hello Raj yes I added raw material and also its powder...whole garam masala is in raw and powder is also made at home which is in powdered form...
S I SYED says
I have seen the video which explained very well how to cook DUMM Biryani and I will
try it out and see how it tastes. I cook Burmese biryani and it tastes great because i
always smoke it in the end with different type of wood coal. Also when it is marinated
I use afeem goda powder which enhances the taste and also makes you go to sleep. My
onions are fried in olive oil to a golden color along with small cardamons, cloves and
peppercorn. To prepare rice I pre soak it in warm water for an hour and a half. Then I wash this rice by running my fingers through it which makes it snow white. Then I
put the pan of rice under cold running water for 5 minutes. I cook this rice in a big pan
by just adding a two inch long round cinnamon stick. When the rice is cooked 75 percent
I strain it and keep it aside. Then I cook the biryani in three layers of cooked meat, rice
and add safron, melted ghee, mint and corrinander leaves, onions, khewra and rose water
and lid is sealed with chappati dough which is mixed with ghee and eggs and water and
pinch of salt and put in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. The dough is also
eaten because it tastes like rogheni naan. The Biryaniis empties in a huge plate and gradually
mixed togeter and put back in the pan and placed in the owen for 5 minutes and it is
smoked here. I have attended the Chefs Culinary college in USA for 6 years to get my degree.
Mousumi Dasgupta says
Should I cook the chicken separately before the 'dum' part
asiya says
No since it is a dum biryani...we don't need to cook the chicken...
bipinchandra Patel says
looks awesome .i have cooked this in past,i roughly chopped cilantro and mint for marinade. does blending to paste is better?It makes lot of sense.I am going to make it for christmas . before i switch to paste idea i would like your approval and blessing to make this little change. thanks
asiya says
Yes we can roughly chop them and you did nothing wrong... Making paste gives us a marinade in gravy form...Onions, hara masala paste and curd gives us good gravy in biryani and not make it dry...
Mr.right says
Hi..
Can we use pressure cooker or it has to be cooked. In specialy sealed container?
asiya says
You can use a pressure cooker too....just give 3-4 whistles and check that your biryani is done perfectly...
tejina says
Superb recipe..came out very well..thanks
somanna says
Dear asiya,
I was looking out for an authentic hiderabadi chicken biryani kachi style.and impressed with this recipe.I am planning to make it for 6 to 7 pax.can you provide your email id.so that I can clarify my doubts.or official contact number if you have any
Asiya says
Hi Somanna,
Thanks for finding my recipe as an impressive one... I would like you to send me any queries via the comments and I would be glad enough to reply them through comments...Also follow other methods of making chicken biryani from my youtube channel yummy indian kitchen
Somanna says
OK... So let me start asking you my doubts. One as I said I am making it for 6 to 7 pax.1st doubt when making rice how much salt should I add in the water. Or how will I come to know that I have added adequate salt. Like when making pressure cooker Biriyani I put salt little more than what we needed. So that once it is cooked. It comes out perfect. Like that any technique can you tell me
2)so for 6 to 7 pax I am planning 1kg chicken and 750gms of rice. So in chicken marination I will add 1 1/2 table spoon chilli powder, 1 1/2 cup fried onion,1 1/2 cup curd and 1 1/2 tablespoon gg paste and rest Al items mentioned under I will use as per u gave. Is that fine. Or should I reduce any item quantity.
3)once the rice is semi cooked should I put it in a colander and keep for sometime or immediately strain and put on top of chicken marinade and put for dum
4)at last while layering rice u said 1cup saffron flavoured milk and 1 cup of extra water should be added. Is that compulsory. The rice won't become soggy? If it is compulsory how much should I add for 750gm rice?how many strands of saffron in milk.. And I could see initially u mentioned 1 cup saffron milk and while describing u say 1/4 cup saffron milk. Which one is right?
Forgive me for asking so many doubts. I never made Kachi Biriyani,and never cooked basmati rice. This is the first time I am gonna try. Kindly answer to all my doubts please.do keep in mind that I m planning for 750gm rice and 1 kg chicken(😁Will it be enough for6to 7 pax.. That u instruct me)
Asiya says
1. When you add salt you need to taste the water...If it appears enough salty and not too salty...then we understand that the salt content is right.
2. The quantities you mentioned are ok but i suggest you to add 1 full cup yogurt and 1 cup fried onions.
3. Immediately strain the rice once it is semi cooked else it will get overcooked cos of warm water.
4. If the marinade has good gravy and rice is properly cooked then no need to add water at the top...If you feel rice is a bit under cooked then sprinkle some water on the top...Add saffron in very little milk...
1 kg rice is good for 5-6 people and add little more rice if you are making for 7 ppl and also make use of close to 1 kg chicken if you are making it for more than 6...750 would be too less of chicken for 7 ppl...
somanna says
Thank you asiya for the quick reply.really appreciable.i will definitely let you know how it comes out.so I am gonna use 1 kg rice and 1,kg chicken...
Asiya says
Thanks Somanna, do give us your feedback on how it turned out...
Chandika says
Hi Asiya, it’s yummy to look.I wanna try it in oven instead of stove..can u tell the temp n time needed to do it?thanks in advance
Asiya says
preheat the oven to 200 °c and bake for 30 to 40 minutes...
Smitha says
Hi Asiya..
Tried your recepie.. it was awsome.. thanks a lot..
My family loved ii..
Asiya says
Thanks for trying and loving it Smitha...
Candice says
Hi Asiya,
This recipe is so well written and sounds super yummy, thanks for sharing. If I don't want to use dough to seal the pot what else can I use? Also, is there a substitute for caraway seeds?
Thank you!
Candice
Asiya says
Hi Candice,
Thanks for the appreciation... You can skip if caraway seeds are not available and you can place a heavy weight on the vessel rather than sealing with the dough...
Chandana T says
Can we marinade chicken previous night... Because inwill have less time to prepare next morning so.. will chicken not loose its texture by marinating in f4idge 2hole night ???
Asiya says
Marinating chicken can be done previous night but not too long and I would not prefer this method as chicken tends to spoil quickly if marinated for too long..
Prithvi Salian says
Hi Asiya,
I tried this recipe and it turned out to be amazing! Had a blast preparing it and my friends just loved it!
I was unable to balance the salt initially, had to add it later!
Will be trying it once again and this recipe will be my base for all future Dum Biriyanis!
Really appreciate you sharing this!
Regards,
Prithvi
George says
Can we make mutton Dum Biryani using the same procedure
Asiya says
absolutely...it is made with the same procedure...
Nagamani says
I tried n it is so tasty.. thanks a ton asia for this wonderful biryani recipe..
Ravi Prabhakaran says
Hi Asiya!
Nice recipe!
One doubt though. Caraway seed and Shahi Jeera are two different spices. You have mentioned both. Do you mean we can substitute one for the other or did you mean our traditional Shahi Jeera, only?
Asiya says
Hi,
I suggest to use only shahi zeera which is black cumin ....
Ravi says
Thank you.
Aquapearl says
Great recipe. Absolutely delicious it turned out. Thanks for sharing
Srujana says
This is my go to recipe. I love this website. Helps me experiment new recipes 🙂