Hyderabad Chicken Dum Biryani

1. Make a smooth paste with onions, ginger-garlic paste, green chilies, cardamom, cloves, fennel seeds, mace, shahi jeera and star anise.
2. In a pan over medium flame, combine ghee and oil and add the paste; saute till lightly browned. Add turmeric and other spice powders and sauté for a minute.
3. Add 1/2 tbsps coriander leaves and 1 tbsp of mint leaves; continue to stir until the leaves change colour. Turn off the stove and let cool.
4. Combine prepared paste, chicken, curd, and salt and marinate in the refrigerator overnight or at least for 2 hours.

How to Cook Rice:

1. Boil 9 cups water in a vessel, add the basmati rice, and a pinch of salt and cook on medium flame for 5 minutes or till the rice has a firm texture.
2. Drain the water and spread rice on a plate. 

Preparing the Garnish

1. Add saffron to warmed milk. Set aside to cool.
2. In a pan, heat ghee and fry sliced onions till they turn a light brown. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Fry cashews and raisins in the same pan. Once the cashews turn brown and the raisins, puffy, transfer to a plate and set aside to cool
4. Heat oil and add cloves, fennel seeds, mace, shahi jeera and star anise. Sauté for a minute and add the remaining chopped coriander and mint leaves. Sauté for a couple of minutes. 

How to assemble the biriyani

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil and cook the marinated chicken until the oil starts leaving the edges and turn off the flame.
2. Add layer of rice on the cooked chicken.
3. Add half the saffron milk along with fried onions, cashews and raisins.
4. Add another rice layer and add the remaining saffron milk and fried onions, cashews and raisins. Finish off with some chopped coriander and mint leaves. 

How to make the dum:

1. Combine water and flour to make a smooth dough.
2. Cover the vessel with a plate and seal the edges with the dough so that the steam cannot escape. Cook on medium flame for 5 minutes.
3. Heat a tava and place the vessel containing vessel over it. Cook for another 30-40 minutes over low flame.
4. Switch off the flame and rest the biryani on the tava for 30 minutes.
5. Remove the seal and mix the biriyani.
6. Serve hot with onion raita or curry.

Fun Fact

Earlier, there was no concept of adding chicken to Hyderabad Dum Biriyani. It is in the recent past that this dish has evolved.