Dishoom's Chicken Berry Britannia Biryani Recipe

This chicken biryani is our homage to Britannia’s chicken berry pulao, using cranberries in place of the more authentic Persian barberries, which are tricky to find. (Despite much cajoling, Mr Kohinoor has never shared his wife’s famous recipe.) It is prepared in the kacchi style, originating from Hyderabad, in which marinated raw meat goes into the pot, to be cooked at the same time as the rice.

SERVES 4 – 6

Ingredients

For the rice

300g basmati rice

2 tsp fine sea salt

Juice of ½ lime

For the base

500g skinless, boneless chicken thighs, each cut into 3 pieces

20g ginger paste

25g garlic paste

1 ½ tsp deggi mirch chilli powder

2 tsp fine sea salt

2 tsp ground cumin

1 ½ tsp garam masala

2 tbsp lime juice

100g full-fat Greek yoghurt

30ml vegetable oil

3 green chillies, each cut into 4 long strips

3cm fresh root ginger, cut into fine matchsticks

1 quantity crispy fried onions

6 large mint leaves, chopped

5g coriander leaves, chopped

For the topping

20g unsalted butter

3 tbsp double cream

1 quantity saffron water

35g dried cranberries

Method

  1. Firstly, soak the rice. To do this, pull the rice into a large bowl and cover generously with water. Using your fingers, gently move the rice around in the water to remove the starch, being careful not to break up the grains. Allow the rice to settle, then pour off the water. Repeat twice with fresh water, then cover again with fresh water and leave to soak for 45 minutes.
  2. For the base, place the chicken in a bowl. Mix all the remaining ingredients together, add to the chicken and turn to coat. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate until you are ready to assemble the dish.
  3. Heat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Drain the rice when the soaking time is up. Pour 2 litres boiling water into a large pan and add the salt and lime juice.
  4. Transfer the chicken and marinade to your biryani cooking pot and place over a low heat to warm through while you cook the rice.
  5. Tip the drained rice into the boiling water and stir well. Boil for 4-5 minutes until the rice is three-quarters cooked. You can tell when the rice has reached this stage by taking a grain between your forefingers and thumb, and pressing down on it with your nail; it should still be slightly firm and break into 5 or 6 pieces. Drain the rice; you don’t need to shake it dry as a little extra moisture helps during cooking. Place it in the biryani pot, on top of the chicken.
  6. In a small pan, or in the microwave, warm the butter and cream until the butter melts. Mix together, then trickle over the rice, followed by the saffron water. Scatter the cranberries over the top.
  7. Cover tightly with two layers of foil. Place over a high heat for 2-3 minutes, until the foil puffs up and you see a little steam start to escape. Put the lid on, transfer to the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Let the biryani stand, still covered, for 10 minutes before serving.

For other Dishoom recipes, please see Dishoom: from Bombay with love, our cookery book and highly subjective guide to Bombay.

Read the café stories

Suggested Reading

See the journal

Ayesha Erkin shares one of her delectable date recipes

We’re turning page after page of Ayesha Erkin’s recipe book Date of the Day, featuring 30+ recipes for the modest date – timely for breaking fast and after. Our dear friend Ayesha has now kindly shared a recipe for you to make at home. Try it this Iftar or any time you need a salty-spiced sticky treat.

Celebrate Iftar with Dishoom

The holy month of Ramadan is upon us, when Muslims around the world fast daily from dawn till dusk. It is a time of private worship and spiritual discipline, but also of shared joy and abundant feasting. Families and communities come together at suhoor, the pre-dawn meal, and at iftar, the evening meal, to break their fasts with copious, delicious dishes. Join us on 7th April for our own Iftar celebration – for an evening of feasting and live music.

Caring hands at Ramadan

Ramadan

We often find it too easy to hurtle through the days, in an attempt to outpace the bustling city – be it London or Bombay – which always seems to be running away like a steam-engine train on a rickety track. Occasionally, it does us good to pause for thought, to disembark the carriage and sit on the platform awhile.

Dishoom's Cheese & Masala Sticks Recipe

The month of Ramadan may be a period of fasting but it’s equally synonymous with feasting. Iftar – the evening meal with which Muslims break their fast – is an occasion for eating favourite dishes and indulging in the naughtiness of moreish snacks after a day of abstaining, and these cheese-and-pastry twirls make the perfect snack.