Hyderabadi Biryani - A Feast of Traditions.

What do you do on days when it's pouring like crazy outside here in the UK which spoils any plans you might have made? You then end up making Biryani at home. It's the quintessential dish that makes anyone happy the moment it is served on the dinner table.

So this time I dabbled my hands on preparing Hyderabadi Biryani. A biryani dish that has such strong traditional roots dating all the way back to the Mughal periods. Some historians claim that this is the place where biryani originated from and that might be true, though it still hasn't been corroborated.

The story of the Hyderabadi Biryani goes that it was first concocted by the chefs of the first Nizam, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I. The Nizams were rulers of Hyderabad in the 18th to 20th century and also served as generals for the Mughals during those periods.

While biryani originates from Persia, it was the Mughals who brought it over to the subcontinent and gave it it's distinct taste that we have come to love today.

What makes Hyderabadi Biryani unique is the blend of spices it uses and the technique applied when cooking it. The meat is marinated overnight (or at least for 4 to 5 hours) with the spices and yoghurt (something that was also done back in the day). Then it is layered at the bottom of a large stock pot and layers of parboiled rice are added during different times together with some small additions to give each layer of rice a distinct taste. Then you seal the pot with foil (or with a layer of dough on the edges if you want to be more traditional) and cover and let it cook untouched for around 40 to 45 mins.

The end result is a smorgasbord of amazing flavours with meat so succulent it comes off the bone. While the technique can be a bit tricky, the end result is so worth the effort put into it that once you serve it, you will see why Hyderabadi Biryani is known to be one of the most popular forms of Biryani. 

Here's the recipe:

Hyderabadi Biryani Recipe:

Ingredients:

- 1 kg chicken.

- 3 to 4 potatoes (cut into quarters).

- 750 gms white basmati rice (Always use good quality basmati rice).

- 3 tbsp ginger and garlic paste.

- 2 tsp red chilli powder.

- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder.

- 1 tsp coriander powder. 

- 1 tbsp garam masala powder. 

- 2 tbsp lemon juice. 

- 1/2 to 1 cup coriander (chopped).

- 4 to 6 green chillies (chopped).

- 4 onions (sliced).

- 1 cup yoghurt (whipped).

- 2 tbsp ghee (Or butter).

- 3 tbsp oil. 

- 2 to 3 tsp of salt (Or according to taste).

Preparation:

- First in a pan, heat some oil and fry the onions till they're browned. Remove and put them on a paper towel. Spread them openly and let it cool so that they become crisp.

- Next in a large mixing bowl, add in the chicken. Add the ginger and garlic paste, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, lemon juice, chopped coriander, chopped green chillies, half of the fried onions (We use the remaining half for later). Mix them all well together till it's well incorporated. 

- Add in the yoghurt, ghee (Or butter), half of the oil to the chicken. Mix it all well together again until it is well incorporated. Then top the whole mixture with the remaining oil. Cover with cling film, refrigerate and let it marinate for at least 4 to 5 hours (Or preferably overnight). 

- An hour before you start cooking. Wash and strain the rice repeatedly to rid the excess starch. Do it around 7 to 10 times. Then soak the rice in a bowl for 1 hour. 

- Once the rice has been well washed and soaked for one hour, drain it and get it ready to boil it. In a large pot, add in water, 1 to 2 tbsp of salt, 3 tbsp of oil, 1/2 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp of whole black peppercorns and bring to a rolling boil.

- At the same time, get another large stock pot and get the marinated chicken ready into the pot, making sure that they are all evenly spread and don't stack on top of each other. Add in the chopped potatoes as well and around 1/2 cup of water. 

- Add in the rice into the boiling water and bring it back to a boil. Once the pot starts boiling again. Wait for about 2 to 3 minutes then with a large slotted strainer spoon, remove one layer of the rice and spread it on top of the chicken mix in the other pot. Wait for another 2 minutes then take the 2nd layer of the rice and spread it evenly into the other pot. Add in 1 tsp of garam masala on the 2nd layer of rice. Then finally wait another 2 minutes and remove the last layer of rice from the boiling water and spread it into the other pot. Lastly top the rice with the leftover fried onions we had set aside. 

- (Optional) - You can add some colouring into the rice to give it a nice vibrant presentation if you like. Usually saffron strands are used with some boiled milk and spread on top of the 3rd rice layer. If you don't have saffron strands, then you can use food colouring powder (Which I did). Get a food colour which is egg yellow in colour. Add 1/4 tsp of the food colouring powder with 3 tsp of water and mix it well. Then spread it on top of the 3rd rice layer. 

- After all is said and done, seal the pot with aluminium foil and cover it with the lid on top. Cook it on high flame for around 8 to 10 minutes, after that set the heat to low and cook it for another 25 to 30 minutes. Once it's done, switch off the flame and let the pot rest for about 10 minutes. Garnish it with some chopped coriander. 

- Serve and enjoy!