Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani in a Clay Handi

Dum means cooking in trapped steam. A clay handi with a lid is made for this: the thick walls heat slowly and the steam stays inside, so the rice and chicken cook together without drying out. This is a home version of Hyderabadi dum biryani (బిర్యానీ), sized for a 3 litre pot.

• Serves 3 to 4
• Prep 30 minutes, plus 2 hours to marinate
• Cook 50 minutes
• Pot 3 L pot with lid

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 500 g chicken on the bone, in medium pieces
• 3/4 cup thick curd
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 1/2 cup fried onions (birista)
• A handful each of mint and coriander leaves, chopped
• 2 green chillies, slit
• 1 1/2 teaspoons red chilli powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons biryani masala or garam masala
• Juice of half a lemon
• 3 tablespoons oil
• Salt to taste

For the rice

• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) aged basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes
• 1 bay leaf, 4 cloves, 3 green cardamom, 1 small cinnamon stick and 1 teaspoon shahi jeera
• Salt

For layering and sealing

• 1/4 cup fried onions
• A pinch of saffron soaked in 3 tablespoons warm milk
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• A few mint leaves
• Wheat flour dough to seal the lid

Method

1. Mix everything listed for the chicken in the clay pot itself. Cover and marinate for at least 2 hours. If you marinate in the fridge, take the pot out 30 minutes before cooking. A cold clay pot should not go straight on to a flame.
2. Boil plenty of water in a separate vessel with the whole spices and enough salt for the water to taste salty. Add the soaked rice and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until it is about 70 percent done. The grain should break when pressed but still have a firm centre. Drain.
3. Spread the hot rice over the chicken in an even layer. Top with the fried onions, mint, saffron milk and ghee.
4. Roll the dough into a rope, press it around the rim and close the lid so that no steam escapes.
5. Place the pot on a low flame. After 5 minutes raise it to low to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Then turn the flame to the lowest setting and cook for 30 minutes more.
6. Switch off and rest the pot for 10 minutes. Break the seal and check that the chicken is cooked through and comes off the bone easily. If not, close the lid and cook on a low flame for 10 more minutes.
7. Mix gently from the sides and serve with raita and mirchi ka salan.

Clay pot notes

• Do not open the lid during dum. The steam is what cooks the rice.
• Keep the flame low. A high flame can crack clay and will burn the bottom layer.
• Rest the hot pot on a wooden board or a dry cloth.
• Soak the empty pot in plain warm water after the meal. Stuck rice comes off easily without soap.

We cook this in the black clay pot with red lid, 3 litre size. Buying a pot and a curd pot for the raita together? See mix and match.