14 February, 2020

Hyderabadi Biryani Recipe

Posted in : Food on February 14, 2020 by : admin

Hyderabadi Biryani Recipe

You can’t talk about biryanis without mentioning the Hyderabadi  Biryani. Cooked with either mutton or chicken, and laced with rich ingredients, this recipe is the stairway to heaven. Believe it or not, this dish is such a favorite that people don’t mind having it for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

There are several variants of biryanis everywhere. The style of cooking, however, remains same everywhere. But, only in Hyderabad, biryani is cooked in a unique style which made it renowned worldwide. Unlike elsewhere, we in Hyderabad do not cook meat and rice separately. We cook raw rice and raw meat together with exotic spices and that’s our speciality.

The Hyderabadi biryani is meticulously prepared in the ‘Kutchi’ (raw) biryani style, in which raw rice and raw meat are cooked together in a ‘handi’ (earthen pot) with spices and a little bit of water. It takes meticulous planning and a lot of time to prepare Hyderbadi biryani. The richness of Hyderabadi biryani is due to its unique cooking sytle.

It’s my favorite, favorite and favorite recipe. In fact it’s everyone’s favorite. The real taste of the dish depends on the way we prepare the chicken marinade and the spices we use. This recipe has many ingredients but don’t panic it is not as difficult as it seems. The logic behind the recipe is Patience+ Practice = Perfection. Don’t expect the perfect outcome in the first attempt. But, once you achieve the art of cooking biryani it would be much easier than any other recipe.

Here is the recipe for Hyderabadi Biryani.

Ingredients:

For Rice:

• 800 grams Basmati rice
• Water for soaking and cooking  rice
• Whole garam masala spices all as I mentioned below in Biryani Masala

For Biryani Masala

• 1 inch cinnamon sticks 2 pieces
• 6 to 7 cloves
• 5 to 6 cardamoms
• 1 tsp shahi jeera/ caraway seeds
• ¼ pieces  nutmeg/Jaiphal
• 1 anise star
• 3 grams biryani ka phool/black stone flower
• 3 sticls Marathi moggu/kapok buds small
• 1 piece mace/Japatri

For Marination

• 750 grams Chicken cut
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• Salt as per the taste
• 2 to 3 tsp red chili paste
• 1 tbsp green chili paste
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• Chopped mint leaves a handful
• 3 medium onions very thinly sliced
• 200 grams thick yogurt
• 1 lemon
• 6 tbsp oil pre-boiled
• 2 to 3 tbsp ghee/clarified butter

Instructions

Soaking Rice

1. Soak rice for half an hour. Rinse for 2 to 3 times before cooking.
2. Preparing Biryani Masala
3. Put cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamoms, shahi jeera, nutmeg, anise star, biryani ka phool or black stone flower, Marathi moggu, mace or Japatri in a blender and grind them into a coarse powder and keep aside.
4. Use 1 1/2 to 2 tsp of Biryani Masala powder for 750 grams of chicken.

Frying Onions

1. Cut the onions into very thin long slices. Heat oil for deep fry.
2. Fry onions till they turn into golden brown color. They will become crispy soon after you take out from oil.

Marination

1. Rinse chicken thoroughly, add salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, biryani masala, ginger garlic paste, green chili paste, chopped mint leaves, yogurt and lemon juice.
2. Crush fried onions with your fingers while adding.
3. Pour oil. You can use the oil that was used for frying the onions.
4. Let the marinade rest for 1 to 2 hours.

Cooking Rice

1. Rinse the soaked rice for 2 to 3 times.
2. Take a vessel; add enough water so the rice can move freely in the water.
3. Add salt until the water tastes salty.
4. Add whole spices, mint and bring the water to a boil.
5. When the water starts to boil add the soaked rice.
6. After adding soaked rice, water stops to boil. So bring it to a boil again and cook for 3 minutes.
7. After 3 minutes turn off the flame and strain out the water immediately.

Cooking Chicken Biryani

1. Take a thick bottomed vessel, grease it with oil.
2. Add the chicken marinade, 2 tbsp of ghee/clarified butter and spread it evenly.
3. Add rice and spread it over the marinade.
4. put some fried onions and fresh mint leaves on the rice
5. Cover it with clean damp cloth or aluminum foil and place lid over it.
6. Cook it for 12-15 minutes on high flames and 5 minutes on low flame.
7. Turn off the heat and let it rest for some time.

Recipe Notes

If you cook rice for more than 3 minutes the rice will get cooked completely and it will become mushy when you add it to the marinade for further cooking. Tastes good when served with mirchi ka salan and raita.