Food is special, food makes us happy and above all, food
makes you grow fonder of the person who has so lovingly cooked for you. And
guess what’s that mouth watering dish I am gonna talk about here today??? Yes, it's nothing other than BIRYANI. Excited, eh?
I doubt
there’s anyone who doesn’t love this gourmet cuisine and indeed my hubby is no
exception. His immense fondness for Biryani is probably the only reason that
gives me a kick to prepare this intricate dish with dollops of devotion and love.
Oh yes I have one more confession to make...Honestly, I am
not a huge fan of Biryanis sold at those much sought after Biryani hot spots of
Mumbai because the amount of attar (strong edible perfume of Arabian origin) and oil they use
doesn’t intimidate me at all. So after
testing and trying many times myself, I have come up with my own version of
Chicken dum biryani packed exclusively with homely flavours and aromas.
Here’s sharing my
recipe with you all...
Ingredient Checklist
- Chicken with bones: 1 kilo
- Chicken Marinade: Salt, curd (1 small cup),
lemon juice (1 tsp), red chilli powder (1 tsp), Everest garam masala (2 tsps)
and roasted jeera powder (1 tsp), Ginger and garlic – chopped and pasted half cup
- Biryani basmati rice, extra long grains- 2 small cups
- Mustard oil and ghee as per requirement
- Onions-
500 grams coarse paste and 3-4 onions finely chopped
- Spices: Haldi, bay leaves (4), star anise (8),
cloves (8), black pepper balls (6) cardamom (6) and cinnamon sticks (2 short).
- Herbs – coriander and mint leaves (1 cup
chopped)
- Flavouring agents: Salt, red chilli powder ,
Everest garam masala, roasted coriander powder
- Potatoes- 3-4 whole boiled and peeled
- For garnish- One pinch saffron, 2-3 tsps milk, cashews and
raisins, mint leaves, boiled eggs (optional)
Oh baby, so you are ready with the ingredients? Now follow
the steps exactly as explained below to get the taste right.
Step 1: Prepare the marinade
Wash the chicken. Add salt, 2 tsps mustard oil, lemon juice,
red chilli powder, Everest Garam Masala and roasted jeera (cumin) powder, curd
and onion- ginger- garlic paste. Refer to point 2 of the ingredient
checklist. Adjust the quantity of
ingredients as per your need. You can either leave the marinated chicken
overnight or at least 3-4 hours inside refrigerator before cooking the chicken.
Step 2: Cook the rice
To get mix of 2 or 3 types of coloured rice, you have to
cook the rice in separate containers. I usually prepare dual coloured biryani –
white and yellow. Fill 2 skillets individually with water and allow it to boil
in the oven. In the meantime wash the rice gently. Add 2 cups of rice
separately in 2 containers. For the colour – you can either add a pinch of
artificial colouring agent or prefer to go organic with half teaspoon of haldi.
I use Haldi! Now add equal amounts of spices (refer to point 6 in ingredient
list) to the boiling rice along with generous amounts of ghee and salt as per
your palate. Stir the rice gently to ensure that the grains don’t break. One
the rice is cooked spread it over a plate and allow it to cool.
Step 3: Prepare the Dum
I’m a Bengali so I don’t need to explain to my folks “our”
weakness for potatoes. Cut the boiled potatoes from the centre and fry them
with haldi, salt and red chilli power until they turn golden brown. Keep them
aside. Now take a “kadhai” and pour mustard oil generously to cook the chicken.
Add whole spices (2 clove, 2bay leaves, 1 small cinnamon, 1 cardamom, 2-3 black
pepper balls). Let them pop and then add the chicken. Stir and cook. Repeat the
flavouring agents (ingredient no 8) if required. Then add chopped mint and coriander leaves (ingredient
checklist 7). You can add half cup water to make the chicken juicy and tender. Cover
the kadhai and slow cook the chicken.
While the chicken is cooking, all you have to do is deep fry
the chopped onions in oil. Keep a handful aside for garnish and paste the
remaining in mixer. Mix the paste with the chicken to render a rich colour to
the “dum”. You can add the fried potatoes to the Chicken dum or add them
separately while layering the biryani.
Step 4: Prepare the garnish
Slightly fry the cashews and raisins. Mix the saffron with
the milk. Cut the boiled eggs in 2 halves (optional). Keep the deep fried
onions ready.
Step 5: Layering the Biryani
Don’t worry folks; layering is not a rocket science. Mix the
double coloured rice. You can add extra ghee to the rice but later do not crib
about gaining weight :P. Take a big container and grease the bottom with nothing
other than ghee. Then add a layer of rice. Sprinkle all the ingredients of
garnish as described in step 4 followed by a layer of Chicken dum and again
rice. Repeat the layering process. One the top you can put some mint leaves for
aesthetics. Cover the container with
aluminium foil.
Yayy! We are done. The yummy and juicy chicken dum biryani
is now ready to be served on your dining table. Oh yes and don’t forget the
side dish, Raita. Bon appétit! Oo la lal!
Try it and tell me. Much love. :)
