“Biriyani” is a special blend of rice marinated in some of the rich spices native of South India. Chicken Dum Biriyani is prepared using boneless chicken and basmati rice on low heat (dum). This is one of the popular biriyani recipes at Arunachala Bhavan and must have for foodies. Charred with cloves, cinnamon, star anise, bay leaf and smeared ghee, the flavour of the spices are elevated with sour yogurt. The low heat and high pressure together blend to puff up the basmati rice and chicken pieces to set in the perfect dum biriyani.

A proper Mughal era recipe, the chicken dum biriyani is prepared by cooking chicken with steam which is dum. Engrossed in ghee, this biriyani is known for its rich flavour and aroma. So what actually goes into this biriyani? The base of the chicken biriyani is yogurt. The chicken is marinated in curd and a mixture of red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder along with ginger garlic paste. Also onions are sliced thinly and added along with the salt.

Usually the chicken is cooked in a copper vessel, on low flame. The spices are crackled in ghee and the onions are sauted along with. Additional ginger garlic paste is also added for enriching the flavour. The chicken dum biriyani is then dum cooked under the lids of the copper vessel. In dum cooking, par cooked food is retained in the copper vessel. The lid is covered and sealed off with a paste of dough prepared from flour and water. The flames are then turned out, leaving the coals. The heat retained in the copper vessel creates steam, which then condenses and rolls down.

Biriyani is considered to be of Indian origin. Renowned as the dish of Nizam, the ruler of the state of Deccan. At Arunachala Bhavan, Chicken Dum Biriyani is served with raitha (a mixture of yogurt, mint and onion) and also a special semi gravy curry.