Marinated chicken cooks beneath a layer of fragrant basmati rice, spices and fried onions. Sealing the pot tightly keeps the steam and spiced juices in the biryani. Serve with cool cucumber raita.
This version follows the kacchi-dum technique: the chicken goes into the pot raw and marinated, topped with rice that has been partially cooked. In the sealed pot, they finish cooking together. This differs from biryani variations in which the meat and rice are prepared separately first. Hyderabadi biryani comes in several versions; here, the focus is on cooking in layers and on rice that absorbs the chicken’s spiced juices.
Yoghurt makes the marinade creamy and adds gentle freshness, while ginger, garlic, chilli and warm spices season the chicken. Fried onions add sweet, savoury notes. Fry the onions slowly until golden brown, then drain them: onions that get too dark can turn bitter. Some of the fragrant oil goes into the chicken; the crispy onions are layered between and on top of the rice as well.
Basmati rice works well because its long grains can stay separate after cooking. Rinse the rice until the water is mostly clear, then soak it; this helps it cook more evenly. Then cook the grains only partially before draining them. They will finish cooking over the chicken. If you cook them until completely soft first, they will quickly turn mushy during the dum stage. Saffron steeped in warm milk adds a subtle aroma and colour; feel free to leave it out if you don’t have saffron.
A heavy pot with a tightly fitting lid helps trap the steam. Placing a metal plate or cast-iron griddle between the pot and the gas flame distributes the heat and reduces the chance of the food burning. Keep the lid on while it cooks; every time you open it, steam escapes. If you don’t have separate whole spices for the cooking water, you can leave them out, but don’t replace them with extra ground spices: they make the cooking water cloudy and can overpower the rice.
Yoghurt and cucumber raita cools the palate alongside the warm spices; a simple salad with lemon also goes well. When serving, scoop from the bottom upwards so the chicken, white rice and saffron-coloured patches all come together on the plate. Refrigerate leftover biryani within two hours and eat it within two days. Reheat only the portion you need, until it is steaming hot all the way through.
Mix the chicken with 180 g yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, turmeric, ground coriander, garam masala, lemon juice and 8 g salt. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Rinse the basmati rice until the water is mostly clear. Soak the rice in cold water for 30 minutes, then drain.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the onions in batches until golden brown; stir regularly and remove them from the pan as soon as they are deep golden. Drain on paper towels. Stir 2 tablespoons of the oil into the chicken marinade.
Bring 2½ litres of water to a boil with 20 g salt, the bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and 1 tsp cumin seeds. Add the rice and cook for 5–6 minutes, until the grains are soft on the outside but still firm in the centre. Drain immediately.
Steep the saffron in the warm milk for 5 minutes. Spread the marinated chicken over the bottom of a heavy pot about 26 cm in diameter. Scatter half of the fried onions, mint and coriander over it.
Spoon the partially cooked rice loosely over the chicken. Scatter the rest of the fried onions, mint and coriander over the top. Drizzle the saffron milk and ghee over the rice.
Seal the pot tightly with a well-fitting lid. Set it over low heat, preferably on a heat diffuser, and cook for 35–40 minutes without opening the lid. Remove the pot from the heat and leave to rest for 10 minutes. If in doubt, check that a thick piece of chicken is cooked through to the centre; if not, cover the pot again and continue cooking.
For the raita, mix the yoghurt with the grated cucumber, ground cumin and 2 g salt. Spoon the biryani onto plates from the bottom upwards so the chicken and rice come together, and serve with the raita.
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