There are two main styles of biryani in South India: the Hyderabadi style (which we cook) and the Kolkata style (which we love but don't specialize in). The Hyderabadi version uses the dum technique — sealing the pot with dough and cooking everything in its own steam. It's an ancient Persian import, refined over centuries by the Nizams of Hyderabad.

There are two main styles of biryani in South India: the Hyderabadi style (which we cook) and the Kolkata style (which we love but don't specialize in). The Hyderabadi version uses the dum technique — sealing the pot with dough and cooking everything in its own steam. It's an ancient Persian import, refined over centuries by the Nizams of Hyderabad.

The two camps

The Kolkata version is lighter, uses potatoes, and is cooked in a single pot without sealing. Both are delicious. They're just different. We picked the Hyderabadi style because the sealing process produces a more layered, more aromatic result. It's also more labour-intensive, which fits our kitchen culture.

The four non-negotiables

Great biryani has four non-negotiables: the basmati, the marination, the masala, and the dum.

The basmati must be aged at least a year. We use a 24-month aged basmati from Punjab. Older basmati has less starch, which means the grains stay separate after cooking. Newer basmati gets sticky. It's a small thing, but it's the difference between biryani and rice-with-curry.

The chicken (or goat) needs to marinate for at least four hours, ideally overnight. We use a yoghurt-based marinade with ginger-garlic paste, green chilli, and our 32-spice masala. The yoghurt tenderizes. The spices penetrate. The result is meat that's flavoured all the way through, not just on the surface.

The dum

The final cook is everything. We layer the partially-cooked basmati over the marinated meat in a heavy-bottomed handi. We top with fried onions, saffron-infused milk, mint, and coriander. We seal the lid with a thick rope of dough. We cook on the lowest possible flame for 90 minutes.

When the seal breaks at the table — the smell is the smell of every Hyderabadi kitchen that ever was. It's why we do this. It's why the line for pickup is sometimes around the block.

— Anjali