EASY CHICKEN DUM BIRYANI

Hello everyone 

I am not too fond of nonveg dishes but also don't dislike, so use to cook occasionally. When it comes to biryani, I always choose to veg biryani . But both my brothers and hubby too ,like chicken biryani over veg version. But as we know skinless chicken breast is low fat and a good source of protein also ,So after making up my mind for long , finally I gave it a chance too and viola it was a hit. Though my way of cooking don't call for too much oil or butter hence this one is also one of the low calorie biryani compared to regular ones. This is also simple to cook and don't need any special utensil or technique, even then you can get quiet authentic taste. Step wise recipe is given below hope you all will definitely give it a try.

EASY CHICKEN DUM BIRYANI 

Serves: 4-5

Time: 1 hr

Ingredients 

For chicken:

1 kg boneless chicken breast, cubed

3 medium onions, thinly sliced 

3 green chillies, broken in halves 

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste or minced ginger garlic 

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp curry powder 

1 tsp biryani powder masala

2 tsp chicken masala

1/3 tsp turmeric powder 

1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder 

2 big tomatoes, finely chopped 

3/4 cup fresh thick yoghurt (curd), beaten

Salt to taste

For chicken Tempering:

3/4 tsp cumin seeds 

3/4 tsp fennel seeds 

4 green cardamom 

4 cloves 

8-10 black peppers

2 inches piece cinnamon 

1 inch thin piece mace

For marination:

1 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp biryani powder masala

1/2 tsp chicken masala

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/3 tsp turmeric powder 

For rice:

2 1/2 cup basmati or biryani rice, soaked for at least 30 mins

2 tsp ghee

3 1/2 cup water

1/3 tsp salt

For rice tempering:

1 star anise

4 green cardamom 

4 cloves

2 inches piece cinnamon 

For layering:

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped roughly 

1 tsp Kewda or rose water

Handful cashews, fried golden

2-3 tomatoes, thin round sliced 

Few strands of saffron or red and yellow edible colors 

1 big onion, thinly sliced and deep fried till golden brown 

Method:

First of all marinate chicken with ingredients given under marination section. Gently rub it on all pieces and let it rest for 20 mins minimum.

Now heat 2 tbsp oil in a thick bottom wok and deep fry onions given under layering section, till golden brown and drain it on a kitchen towel or paper to get rid of excess oil. I grilled these onions in microwave till golden brown to avoid this excess calorie in my dish. You can use any way you prefer.

Now add some more oil in the wok and heat it. Add all the chicken tempering spices and saute till aromatic, nearly 2 mins, avoid burning. Now add sliced onions and green chillies, fry till golden then add ginger garlic mince or paste. Saute till raw smell of it goes off.

 Now add marinated chicken cubes and fry on high flame for 5 mins or till it get white from all sides ,stirring constantly. Now add all powder spices and saute for 4-5 mins till spices get fried well. Now lower the flame , add some salt and cover it with lid. Cook for 10 mins or till chicken get completely cooked and tender, stirring occasionally.

In the mean while start preparing rice too. Heat ghee in a wide wok and add rice tempering spices,saute for 2 mins and add drained rice again saute for 2 mins ,add salt and water . Let it cook till nearly 90% done but not completely soft. Now shift rice in a sieve , some liquid may drain but you can use it in chicken. Don't overcook otherwise you will end up with chicken khichadi. Use water as per requirement, as different rice needs different quantity of water. If you like to boil rice in enough water and drain, then you can do as per your comfort. But I don't drain as I think all the flavour of spices will goes off with it, so I use only required amount of water.

When chicken is tender, add chopped tomatoes and fry on high flame till they get mushy and cooked now add beaten curd and cook stirring constantly to avoid cuddling of curd.

 Cook it on high flame to get nice semi dry chicken . Adjust salt and it's done.

Now for layering, divide chicken and rice in two to three equal parts. Spread one layer of chicken then spread some of mint leaves all over it then sprinkle, red color or saffron strands soaked in milk. Now spread next part of rice on it evenly so that it cover whole chicken. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of milk on it, then sprinkle 1/2 tsp of Kewda or rose water, spread half of fried or grilled brown onions , cashews and some of mint leaves on it. Similarly make another layer of chicken on it and finally rice layer. You can make 2-3 layers of both chicken as rice as per your convenience and quantity.

Finally cover it well with an aluminum foil so that it can be put on dum. You can also seal it with dough.

Now keep a tawa on low flame and put this biryani pot on it and dum it for 20-25 mins. Switch of the flame and let it rest for at least 10-15 mins so that all the flavours and aroma of spices and essences get infused in whole dish. 

Your aromatic,easy, yummy and flavour full biryani is ready to be served with tomato onion raita.

Always try to cook rice and chicken simultaneously so that you will get nice fluffy biryani. Never cook rice too early otherwise it may stick. If it's not possible to cook both at a time then first cook chicken then go to rice.

Never mix biryani with spatula, always use a fork or best to flip it by tossing.

It's a one pot meal that none of the nonvegetarian can refuse. Its aroma is sufficient to bring you to the dinning room. This can be a hit dish for any get together or family party. You need not to serve too many dishes with it only simple raita is enough to accompany it.

Hope you will definitely give it a try, it might be looking a long recipe but believe me it will not take your much effort and time . At last you will never regret for trying it, it's a must try recipe for all biryani lovers.

Please stop by and pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....