Shika's Chicken Dum Biryani

My friend Shika made this amazing chicken biryani for office Thanksgiving Potluck. It tasted yum.

1.       Chicken (or mutton) Marinade :  Marinate this for 24 hours at least (throw all this in a bog bowl or zip lock bag)

·         Washed n cut meat

·         Curd (desi dahi)

·         Red pepper powder

·         Coriander powder

·         Turmeric powder

·         Salt

·         Garam masala powder

·         Lime juice

2.       Rice: Cook rice ahead of time [N cups rice + (N+2) cups water]

3.       Saffron + warm milk (soak for 5 min at least)

4.       Cilantro chopped

5.       Mint (optional) (I don’t like mint in my biryani)

6.       Take a pot with good depth (6-7 inches maybe so we can have multiple layers of chicken n rice)

7.       Heat Ghee and add:

·         Cumin

·         Clove

·         Green Cardamom

·         Black cardamom

·         Cinnamon

·         Black peppercorns

·         Star anise

8.       Layering:

·         Add 4-5 onions (long cut) and mix it with ghee, slow down the heat to minimum (we do not want onions to cook, they should caramelize slowly after the layering is done, start the layering immediately)

·         Add a layer of marinated chicken

·         Add a layer of rice (all chicken should be covered nicely and more)

·         Add mixture of milk + saffron

·         Add garnish of cilantro (+mint)

·         Add second layer of chicken

·         Second layer of rice + saffron milk + cilantro

·         Add third layer of chicken

·         Third layer of rice + saffron milk + cilantro

·         Repeat this till you exhaust chicken and top layer should always be rice.

·         Wrap dough on top of the edge of the pot, put on the lid on top of the dough ring and press enough to seal it in without any vents (steam should not escape)

 

Heat on high/medium for 20 mins (time it!)

Heat it on low for another 30 mins