Aloo Dum Biryani | Dum Aloo Biryani Recipe
Biryani is one of the most sought after food in India, especially Southern India. I guess atleast 90% of South Indians would love to eat Biryani any day any time of the year :-). Also most people go for non-vegetarian Biryani. But vegetarians can also make variety of biryani recipes and enjoy this flavorful rice. We can make different Vegetarian variety of Biryani. We can just add paneer and make Paneer Dum Biryani, same way this recipe explains how to make Aloo Dum Biryani.
Aloo Dum Biryani, a lengthy process but worth its time. The layering of aloo masala alternated with rice cooked in Dum heat make this a delectable food. There are 6 steps in the process of making Aloo Dum Biryani.
- Prepare fried onions, baby potatoes
- Marinate fried potatoes with masala
- Cook potato masala
- Cook rice till 70%
- Layer the masala and rice alternatively
- Cook in Dum method
What is Dum Cooking?
Dum, means “Breathe In”. Dum cooking uses a round, heavy-bottomed pot, preferably a handi (clay pot), in which food is sealed and cooked over a slow fire. Such long, slow, enclosed cooking resulted in the retention and permeation of the flavor of all the ingredients.
In Dum method of Cooking, the handi or pan is sealed with dough or foil to prevent the steam from escaping. The food sealed inside, steams slowly in its own juice absorbing all flavors spices and herbs. The vessel used for Dum Cooking plays a very important role. A heavy bottomed clay pot is said to work the best as it releases heat slowly (maintaining the temperature inside) and prevents the fire from burning the bottom of the dish. Another preferred choice is a copper vessel, which is often seen in fine dining Indian restaurants as well as famous stalls. But if we don’t have both, we can use our regular pans too.
Tips for Perfect Aloo dum Biryani:
- Do not over Cook Rice: Make sure to cook the rice to only 70% before layering. If you take a cooked rice and press it, it should not break but should be little firm in the middle.
- Aloo Masala should be semi-thick not very dry or very watery. Half of the aloo masala becomes the first layer of biryani. Too thick masala gets dry quickly and gets burnt before the rice is dum cooked. Too watery masala will be make the bottom layer wet even after the rice is dum cooked.
- Dum Cooking: Dum cooking can be done using tawa and heavy bottomed pan or we can do it in Oven. For Oven, grease a oven safe bowl, layer the biryani, seal it with foil, dum in pre-heated oven at 180 c for about 15 mins.
- Natural Coloring of rice is accomplished with saffron threads soaked in warm milk. If we need strong color, we can use food color.
Recipe Card for Aloo Dum Biryani:
Aloo Dum Biryani | Dum Aloo Biryani Recipe
Equipments Needed
- Heavy Bottomed Pan
- Sauce Pan
Ingredients
- 1½ Cup Basmati Rice 1 Cup - 250ml
- 1½ tsp Salt
- 2 inch Cinnamon
- 4 Cloves
- 3 Cardamom
- 3 Bay Leaf
For Potato Marination
- 300 gms Baby Potatoes
- ⅓ Cup Curd (Plain Yogurt)
- ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- ½ tsp Garam Masala
- 2 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
For Masala
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 Onion Sliced
- 3 Green Chili
- 2 Tomato Cubed
- 10 Mint Leaves
- 1 tbsp Coriander Leaves
- 2 tbsp Oil
Other Ingredients
- 2 Onions Sliced or we can use 2 cups of fried onions
- ½ Cup Mint Leaves
- ½ Cup Coriander Leaves
- 2 tbsp Warm Milk
- Few Strands Saffron Threads
- 2 tbsp Oil
Instructions
- Soak saffron threads in warm milk and set aside
- Wash and soak Rice for about 15 mins
Frying Onions
- Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add onions with pinch of salt and saute onions till they are golden brown. Set this fried onions aside. If you have store bought fried onions, you can skip this step.
Frying Potatoes
- In the same pan, add oil, add washed and peeled baby potatoes. Fry the potatoes in low flame till they are golden color
Marination Process
- Take a mixing bowl. Add curd, salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala, red chili powder and ginger-garlic paste and give a good mix
- Add half of the fried onions to the curd mixture. Then add the fried potatoes and mix well so that the potatoes are coated well.
- Set the marinated mixture aside for about 20 mins
Cooking Rice
- Bring 5 cups of water to boil in a sauce pan or pressure cooker. Add salt to the water. Add cumin seeds and whole garam masalas (bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves)
- Add washed rice to the boiling water. Cook the rice till its almost 70% cooked.
- Once the rice is cooked, strain the excess water and set the cooked rice aside.
Making Aloo Masala
- Heat butter in a pan. Add green chili and fry in butter. Add sliced onions and saute onions till translucent.
- When the Onions are translucent, add tomatoes to the pan and saute tomatoes till they are tender and soft
- When the tomatoes are cooked, add the marinated mixture to the pan. Cover & Cook the masala till the oil oozes out of the masala and the masala becomes thick.
- When the masala is cooked, add mint and coriander leaves and mix well. Then switch off the flame.
- Now the Aloo masala is cooked and rice is almost cooked, lets start layering the biryani
Layering Biryani
- Heat a tawa. On top of the tawa, place a heavy bottomed pan. Grease the tawa with ghee all over the inside of the pan. First add one half of the aloo masala to the greased pan. Then add half of the cooked rice and spread it evenly.
- Then add fried onions and spread it. Also add few mint leaves to the rice layer.
- Now add rest half of the aloo masala and spread gently. Then add the rest of the rice and spread evenly.
- Add some more mint leaves and coriander leaves. Also add saffron milk. This will give a natural color to the biryani.
Dum Cooking
- Cover the pan with aluminium foil. Close the pan with a lid. Keep the flame low and cook for about 15 mins. The rice should be fluffy as well as the bottom masala layer should be dry. If not, cook for more mins.
Serving Time
- Serve the delicious Aloo Dum Biryani with Raitha of your choice and enjoy the Biryani!
Notes
- We are soaking rice and then cooking almost 70% so while layering and cooking make sure to keep the flame very low and cook till the rice is fully done and the masala is dry
- I have used garam masala only in the aloo masala. But if you want strong flavor. you can sprinkle on top of the rice layer too
- We can fresh grind ginger, garlic and green chili and add it to masala for more powerful flavor.
Nutritional Info
Instructions with Step by Step Pictures:
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Soak saffron threads in warm milk and set aside
-
Wash and soak Rice for about 15 mins
FRYING ONIONS
-
Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add onions with pinch of salt and saute onions till they are golden brown. Set this fried onions aside. If you have store bought fried onions, you can skip this step.
FRYING POTATOES
-
In the same pan, add oil, add washed and peeled baby potatoes. Fry the potatoes in low flame till they are golden color
MARINATION PROCESS
-
Take a mixing bowl. Add curd, salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala, red chili powder and ginger-garlic paste and give a good mix
-
Add half of the fried onions to the curd mixture. Then add the fried potatoes and mix well so that the potatoes are coated well. Set the marinated mixture aside for about 20 mins
COOKING RICE
-
Bring 5 cups of water to boil in a sauce pan or pressure cooker. Add salt to the water. Then add cumin seeds and whole garam masalas (bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves). Now add washed rice to the boiling water. Cook the rice till its almost 70% cooked.
-
Once the rice is cooked, strain the excess water and set the cooked rice aside.
MAKING ALOO MASALA
-
Heat butter in a pan. Add green chili and fry in butter. Add sliced onions and saute onions till translucent. When the Onions are translucent.
-
Add tomatoes to the pan and saute tomatoes till they are tender and soft. When the tomatoes are cooked, add the marinated mixture to the pan. Cover & Cook the masala till the oil oozes out of the masala and the masala becomes thick.
-
When the masala is cooked, add mint and coriander leaves and mix well. Then switch off the flame.
-
Now the Aloo masala is cooked and rice is almost cooked, lets start layering the biryani
LAYERING BIRYANI
-
Heat a tawa. On top of the tawa, place a heavy bottomed pan. Grease the tawa with ghee all over the inside of the pan. First add one half of the aloo masala to the greased pan. Then add half of the cooked rice and spread it evenly.
-
Then add fried onions and spread it. Also add few mint leaves to the rice layer.
-
Now add rest half of the aloo masala and spread gently. Then add the rest of the rice and spread evenly.
-
Add some more mint leaves and coriander leaves. Also add saffron milk. This will give a natural color to the biryani.
DUM COOKING
-
Cover the pan with aluminium foil. Close the pan with a lid. Keep the flame low and cook for about 15 mins. The rice should be fluffy as well as the bottom masala layer should be dry. If not, cook for more mins.
- Now the Aloo Dum Biryani is ready. Take in a serving bowl
SERVING TIME
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Serve the delicious Aloo Dum Biryani with Raitha of your choice and enjoy the Biryani!
Addition of a nutritional value chart is a great touch. How do you calculate the nutritional value of the foods you cook?
Thanks. There are some tools available in the in the web which I am using.
Hey I tried yuur recipe…omg.. It turned up soo well.. Thank you so much for making/preparing things easily.. 🙂 I really wish I could post yuu the pic here but that’s okay.. Thanks again 🙂
So glad to know Dheeraja. Next time try to take a pic and share with me. Thanks once again
This comes out excellent. I love many of your recipes and thanks for all those.
Very glad to hear. Thank you Lavanya