Authentic Hyderabadi Dum ka Chicken | 100% Shaadiyon wala Dum ka Chicken recipe

Hyderabadi Dum ka Chicken is a scrumptious and famous chicken dish usually served at weddings and several other special occasions. It is a rich, aromatic, and flavourful dish, made with pre-marinating chicken, slow-cooked on coal to perfection. It can be served as a side dish with any Indian flatbread or any rice delicacy.

The first time I tasted this dish was at a valima dinner (a gathering to celebrate after a Muslim wedding). From a platter of succulent kebabs to a rich dessert, it was a lavish spread on the table. Also, it was a delight to the eyes and one of the best dining experiences.

Dum ka Chicken was one of the dishes served on the table, it looked tempting with semi-thick gravy and creamy texture. One bite and the chicken was ridiculously tender, and the gravy was creamy and mildly spiced, yet had incredible flavors.

After this, I always used to look forward to such invitations and make sure to attend the function. LoL!

Introduction of Hyderabadi Dum ka Chicken

Dum Ka Chicken or slow-cooked Hyderabadi chicken curry is a very popular Nawabi dish in Hyderabad. The Indian city is not only known worldwide for its magnificent monuments, diamond and pearl ornaments, but also for royal, lip-smacking delicacies.

Hyderabadi dum ka chicken is called by many names because of; the color of the gravy, the occasion made for, and the vessel used to make this dish.

As it’s a royal dish, it is a chicken gravy that is rich, creamy, silky, and flavourful because of aromatic whole spices.

Dum ka Chicken is found almost in every Hyderabadi function, be it a small gathering, festive occasion, wedding feasts, or any other family function or special occasion. Usually, at the wedding, the dish has red in color. Hence it is also known as “dawatowaala Hyderabadi red chicken” “Shadiyon wala red chicken” or “dum ka red chicken” or “Hyderabadi red chicken” or “Hyderabadi wedding red chicken curry” or “Hyderabadi dum ka murg“.

What is Dum cooking?

Hyderabadi Dum Ka Chicken is made by “dum” process of cooking which means slow cooking. A heavy bottom vessel is used to make this dish so that the heat is evenly distributed and food doesn’t burn. This means dum-cooking is a technique of very slow cooking in a round, heavy bottom vessel sealed with a tight-fitting lid so that steam is prevented from escaping.

Because of slow cooking, the dum process ensures that the meat is tender and juicy. As the vessel is tightly sealed, the flavors are all sealed in and the meat continues to cook in its own juice. Can relate dum ka cooking to Hyderabadi Biryani which is very famous and a favorite for its lip-smacking taste.

Traditionally, dum cooking is done under hot charcoals. At home this is not possible, so you can cook on low heat on a stovetop.

About the Recipe

Hyderabadi Dum ka Chicken recipe is a special chicken dish where chicken is marinated for more than 8 to 10 hours in distinct spices, and aromatics then slow-cooked until the meat is ridiculously tender.

Today’s recipe is not an everyday chicken curry recipe. Hyderabadi Dum ka Chicken is a special chicken curry from the land of Nizams.

There are many variations of the Dum ka Chicken made in Hyderabad. It may sound like a complicated process but it’s not. The only time-consuming step is frying the onions.

The Hyderabadi Dum ka Chicken recipe is super simple, just need to mix all the ingredients and dum cook (cook on a simmering flame).

The magic of Dum Ka Chicken lies in the distinctive cooking method. The chicken undergoes a slow cooking process, allowing it to absorb the rich flavors of the spices and other ingredients.

This authentic recipe uses lots of ingredients. Hyderabadi dum ka chicken is unique from other curries as the recipe has Chinese sauces too.

The list can look overwhelming but trust me, the main flavor of this dish comes from the ingredients and slow cooking until the meat is tender and falls off the one.

A really good Dum ka Chicken should be red, made in the traditional manner with fried onions, curd, nuts, and seeds ground together.

With a range of herbs, aromatics, whole spices, nuts paste, Indian spice powders, sauces, curd, and fried onions, this dish comes out divine.

For the best flavors, I marinate everything in a heavy bottom pan with a tight-fitting lid a day ahead and keep it in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours.

After the first attempt, Dum ka Murgh is one of the favorite chicken dishes in my family. It is also on top of the menu items when I have guests at home.

I like to dhungar/infuse smoke in this dish, it adds a smoky flavor. I place a piece of smoldering coal in a small steel bowl along with whole spices like clove and green cardamom. Pour over a couple of teaspoons of ghee on the coal and cover the vessel with a lid for 5 minutes. You can taste the smoky flavor in every bite.

Try the recipe and I promise the result is amazing. Spell-bind your guests with its interesting flavors and exotic taste.

Reasons to make

Tried and tested recipe

One of the jewel recipes

Finger-licking delicious

Mildly spicy

The ingredients make the dish immensely aromatic and flavorsome

Superlative chicken curry

Ingredients to make Dum Ka Chicken

Looking at the ingredients list may scare you. Most of the ingredients are found in the Indian pantry, there may be a few which you need to get from a store. The ingredients are the secret of the unique taste and finger-licking dish.

Chicken: The traditional recipe often uses bone-in chicken for enhanced flavor. In this recipe, I’ve used large curry-cut chicken pieces which include both bone-in and boneless pieces.

Will recommend getting an even size of pieces. If the pieces are of uneven size, the large pieces will stay in shape and small pieces may turn mushy upon dum cooking.

You can use boneless too. The cooking time will vary depending on the size and quality of the meat.

Ginger-Garlic paste: It helps in removing the smell from the meat. Can use homemade or store-bought.

Mixed Nuts: Nuts make the gravy a signature rich and creamy texture. I use cashews, cuddapah almond (chironji), coconut, almonds, and poppy seeds.

If you do not have chironji and poppy seeds, you can use the rest of the ingredients and increase the quantity of cashews and almonds.

Curd/Yogurt: I use fresh full-fat yogurt (curd) in the marination, the extra fat helps in making the final dish luscious and creamy. You can use low-fat or curd made at home too.

Do not use sour or old curd, it will change the taste of the dish.

Fried onion: One of the main ingredients is fried onions, also called Birista. Basically, thinly sliced onions are deep-fried in oil till golden brown and crisp. It thickens the gravy and adds color, and a delicately sweet taste to the gravy.

Whole spices: Shah jeera, cloves, cinnamon, green cardamom.

Spice powders: Kashmiri red chili powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and black pepper powder.

Herbs: Fresh coriander leaves are added at two stages, firstly to the marination for flavor and towards the end in garnishing.

Sauces: Soya sauce, green chilly sauce, red chilly sauce, tomato ketchup, and vinegar.

Ghee: Adds aroma.

How to make Hyderabadi Dum Ka Chicken

Make the Paste

1. In a kadhai, dry roast coconut, cashews, chrionji, poppy seeds, badam on low flame for a minute or until aromatic. Do not let them change color.

2. Remove it to a plate or a blender jar and let it cool.

3. Grind to a smooth fine paste and keep aside.

Make the Fried Onion (Birista)

4. Peel the onions. Cut/slice them into thin slices. After slicing the onions, separate them with your hands. If possible make sure the slices are almost equal in size. By doing so, there will be even browning.

5. Heat oil in a large kadai or pan. The quantity of oil should be enough to cover the onion slices.

6. When the oil is hot, add the sliced onions carefully. Fry on medium-high heat till the color of the onions is light brown color.

Note: The heat in the fried onions will continue to cook them further. If the onions are fried to brown color, the heat will turn the onions to dark color and even taste bitter.

7. Remove them with a slotted spoon on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the extra oil.

Marinate the Chicken

8. In a heavy bottom kadhai, add the washed chicken pieces, ground paste, fried onions, spice powders, whole spices, curd, sauces, and salt. Mix well.

9. Add oil (used to deep-fry onions) and coriander leaves.

10. Give a good mix. Cover the kadhai and let it marinate for 1 to 2 hours of overnight in the refrigerator.

Make the Dum ka Chicken

11. If refrigerated, take the marinated chicken for at least an hour before cooking. Add 1/2 cup of hot water and mix well.

12. Put the kadhai/pan with the marinated chicken on the stovetop. Cook on high flame for 3-5 minutes or till there is a boil and smoke at the corners.

13. Turn the flame to low. Close the lid and cook until the chicken is cooked. The cooking time can be 30-40 minutes depending on the quality of the meat and the size of the pieces.

14. After 5 minutes, add green chilies and stir the curry to avoid sticking to the bottom of the vessel. If using a non-stick pan, you can let the curry simmer on low flame until the chicken is cooked completely.

15. Repeat the same and after 15 minutes, you will notice the water content has reduced and the oil starts separating.

16. After 30 minutes, check if the meat is completely cooked. If it’s cooked, cook the gravy without covering it for another 10 minutes till the gravy thickens and the oil separates.

If you want thin consistency, add a 1/4 th cup of hot water and simmer for 5 minutes.

17. Add coriander leaves and mix.

18. Hyderabadi Dum ka Chicken is ready. Serve it hot with flatbread or rice.

Pro tips

Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes or for 2-4 hours in the refrigerator or overnight. The marination will tenderize the meat and infuse flavor deeper.

Marinating the chicken for a longer period of time decreases its cooking time and makes the chicken juicier from the inside.

Do not miss taking out the marinated chicken an hour or two before cooking.

Making the paste of fried onions: It gives the gravy a smooth texture. Instead, you can crush the fried onions and add them while marinating the chicken.

Cooking vessel: I use Handi to make this dish which gives the best result.

If you do not have a heavy bottom pan, you can use a utensil with a tight lid. However, the cooking time will vary. So, keep checking for the doneness of the chicken.

This royal dish needs extra oil. So, do not cut down on the quantity of oil.

To make the gravy extra creamy, a few professionals add cream toward the end. I have made this recipe with and without cream both ways and did not find any major difference in the taste.

Red Chicken curry made in the functions has a food color in it. But I’ve not used it in this recipe and replaced it with kashmiri red chili powder.

Serving Suggestions:

Traditionally in Hyderabadi weddings, dum ka chicken is served as an accompaniment with bagara rice, roomali roti, or any type of biryani.

You can pair up the luscious red chicken curry with a variety of bread like phulka, roti, plain paratha, roomali roti, sheermal, or butter naan.

Or serve it up with a variety of rice dishes like basmati rice, jeera rice, veg pulao, egg biryani

More Chicken recipes

Andhra Chicken roast

Chicken Fry masala

Easy Chicken curry

Chicken Masala curry

Kadai Chicken

Ginger Chicken

Chicken curry with Coconut Milk

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