Tamil Nadu/ Madras Chicken Dum Biryani

Tamil Nadu/ Madras Chicken Dum Biryani


Nothing screams the weekend like biryani, and Tamil Nadu biryani is one of the best biryani that you could have! It is so light on your tummy, yet so flavorful and easy to prepare. My advice would be to prepare the biryani as early as possible and allow the biryani to develop better flavors by staying in dum. 



Now coming back to our recipe of the day Tamil nadu/Madras Style Chicken Dum Biryani. I have had this special fondness to try out this yummy biryani which has its ingredients very similar to our very own Thalassery Biryani. Although there is an addition of yogurt and the rice used here is Basmati rice. And the process varies slightly from Thalassery Biryani, of course! You definitely need some time to keep the rice and Masala in dum.

The first time I tried attempting this biryani, I did not quite like it. Though the next day when the flavors from the chicken Masala actually mingled with the rice, it tasted super delicious. I was all so curious to try out Madras Biryani as I have always heard Tamil stars, celebrities and anyone from Tamil nadu rave about Madras biryani. If you ask them their favorite food it's always biryani. Though I haven't tried the real Madras biryani, I wanted to replicate and ask the people in my house i.e, my bhabhi who has been bought up in Madras and my Hubby who has done his college in Coimbatore and wanted them to check if it resembles. And to my surprise, bhabhi said it's exactly the same way they prepare, just that it's red in color and my hubster told me that it felt like he back in his college days and was similar to what he used to have from coimbatore.

OK. So now, I myself was super happy. But I would definitely prefer Thalassery Biryani to this. But who doesn't like a change and it definitely tastes soo good the next day. Especially along with the raita. As this biryani is quite dry compared to what we usually prepare, raita definitely helps bring out its flavor dimensions. This is when little Huda helped me prepare this biryani. She loves to be with me in my kitchen. So yeah, basically this biryani credit goes to my 3 year old daughter who became a 4 year old last week. (like literally where is the time flying?😭) 



Yallah! Let's make this yum biryani and enjoy the moment.😋

Ingredients :


Rice:

  • 3 cups Basmati rice
  • 4 and 1/2 cups normal water
  • 3 tbsp ghee

Masala:

  • 1 kg fresh chicken
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil 
  • 2 cloves
  • 3 cardamom pods
  • 2 2" cinnamon stick 
  • 3 medium onions, sliced finely
  • 5-6 garlic cloves, chopped coarsley
  • 1" ginger, chopped coarsely 
  • 3-4 green chillies 
  • 1 medium tomato, chopped 
  • 1 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder 
  • 2 tbsp Coriander powder
  • 1/4 cup yogurt 
  • Salt, as required 
  • Couple of tbsp of lemon juice
  • 15 leaves of mint leaves approx, chopped
  • 5-6 sprigs of Coriander leaves, chopped
  • Red/orange food color (optional) 

Raita:

  • 1 cup yogurt 
  • 1/4 of an onion, finely chopped 
  • 2 small green chillies, slit

Instructions :

  1. Soak your Basmati rice for around 15-20 minutes and cook the Basmati rice by turning the flame to the lowest setting when you see fumes forming on top of the boiling water and close the lid and cook untouched for 20-25 minutes (until 80% cooked) and open the lid, pour in your ghee and fluff your rice using a fork gently and allow to cool completely, so that the rice attains better texture. (Cooling in a platter is a good idea) 
  2. In a pressure cooker,  pour in your ghee and vegetable oil (flavorless) and add in your whole spices (cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon) and Sautee. 
  3. Next add in your sinely sliced onions and add some some salt, Sautee until translucent. 

  4. Chop your garlic, ginger and green chillies using a hand held chopper or grinder. 
  5. Add the ground ingredients to the onions and sauté for a couple of minutes until the raw aroma dissappears. 


  6. Next add in your chopped tomatoes and cook until tomatoes turn mushy. 
  7. Now add in your Coriander powder and Chilli powder and sauté well. 
  8. Add in your yogurt and mix gently. 

  9. Finally add in your chicken, salt and chopped herbs. 

  10. Close and cook for 2 whistles. Once the pressure is down, open the cooker and allow the gravy to thicken by keeping the masala under low flame. Once done, finally squeeze in your lemon.

  11. Into a larger vessel start layering the masala and the rice, begining with the masala layer, then a rice layer and a sprinkle of chopped herbs. 
  12. Continue the process until done and add in your color (if you are adding). I prefer my biryani without color. 
  13. Using a foil paper or Maida dough close the lid and seal in the aroma. 
  14. In a preheated oven, 200° C, place your vessel and allow to stay in dum for around 20-30 minutes. 
  15. Serve hot with raita. 

Notes:

  • Refer to my Bukhari rice recipe for tips to cook Basmati rice perfectly to the T. 
  • You may add in red color, which is the authentic style. I haven't used any color here. 
  • You may do the dum process on the stove top if you do not have an oven by placing a flat tawa on flame and put the flame to simmer and place your vessel with your biryani while using a foil to cover your vessel and finally closing with a lid and allow to dum for around 15-20 minutes. 




Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me a mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡

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