Hyderabadi biryani

Method

1. 1 Marinate the chicken with yogurt, Kashmiri chili powder, garam masala, and half of the fried onions for 4 hours.
2. 2 Soak the rice for 30 minutes, then boil it for 4 minutes until 60% cooked; the chicken and rice cook together, so the rice should be less tender than usual.
3. 3 Arrange the marinated raw chicken at the bottom of the pot, cover with rice, then drizzle with ghee, saffron milk, and mint leaves.
4. 4 Knead the dough into a string and seal the lid tightly — this is kacchi biryani, so all the steam must be trapped to cook the chicken thoroughly.
5. 5 Cook over high heat for 4 minutes to evaporate, then reduce to the lowest heat for 35 minutes, let it rest for 15 minutes before breaking up the powdered seal.

With an appliance

• Oven 1 hr 30 min

  Replace step 5: after coating with flour, place the pot in the oven at 190 degrees for 45 minutes. The heat is even from all sides, so the chicken at the bottom cooks through without burning.