# Authentic Chicken Biryani, Layered and Cooked on Dum

> Biryani is chicken marinated in yoghurt and spices for two hours, basmati rice boiled only 70 per cent, then layered in a pot with fried onions and saffron and finished on 'dum' — very low heat under a tight seal for 25 minutes. Not cooking the rice through before layering is the single biggest difference between biryani and ordinary rice.

**Indian Cuisine · 205 min · 6 servings · 610 kcal per serving**

Biryani isn't rice with chicken — it's two layers cooked together in their own steam. The rice takes flavour from the meat below; the meat takes moisture from above. That method is called dum, and it is the whole dish.

## Ingredients


### Marinade
- 1 kg — chicken, jointed
- 1 cup — yoghurt
- 2 tbsp — ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tbsp — garam masala
- 1 tsp — turmeric + Indian chilli powder
- 1 lemon — juice of

### Rice
- 3 cups — basmati rice, soaked 30 minutes
- 5 pods — cardamom + cinnamon stick + 3 cloves + bay leaves
- 1 tbsp — salt

### Layers
- 3 medium — onions, sliced and fried
- ¼ tsp — saffron, steeped in ¼ cup milk
- ½ cup — chopped coriander and mint
- 3 tbsp — ghee

## Method

1. **Marinate** — Mix the yoghurt with the ginger-garlic paste, spices, lemon juice and salt, and coat the chicken. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
2. **Fry the onions** — Deep-fry the sliced onions over medium heat until deep golden and crisp. These give biryani its sweetness and depth.
3. **Cook the chicken** — In a heavy-based pot, cook the marinated chicken with half the fried onions over medium heat until done and the sauce has thickened.
4. **Boil the rice 70%** — Boil the rice in plenty of salted water with the whole spices for five minutes only — it must stay firm in the centre. Drain it immediately.
5. **Layering** — Over the chicken: a layer of rice, a scatter of coriander, mint and fried onions, then the rest of the rice. Drizzle over the saffron milk and melted ghee in circles.
6. **Dum (sealed cooking)** — Seal the pot with foil, then the lid, so no steam escapes, and cook on the lowest heat for 25 minutes. Take it off and leave it sealed for another ten minutes, then fold it gently from the bottom up.

## Tips

- The rice must still be raw in the centre when you layer it — the steam finishes it.
- Don't stir biryani hard; lift it with a fork from the bottom so the grains don't break.
- The fried onions aren't a garnish — they're the main source of sweetness in the dish.

## FAQ

### My rice came out mushy. What went wrong?
It was boiled too long before layering. Five minutes in boiling water is enough — it should still resist between your fingers.

### Can I make it with lamb?
Yes. Cook the meat until tender (about an hour) before layering; everything else is the same.

### What's the difference between biryani and kabsa?
Biryani is cooked in separate layers using the dum method with Indian spices; kabsa is cooked all together in one broth with gentler Gulf spices.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/indian-cuisine/authentic-chicken-biryani-recipe
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-09-12