Donne Biryani is a spicy, aromatic pulao style biryani made with short grain rice (seeraga samba rice ) , special blend of spices and herbs. This is a famous Biryani native of Bangalore , Karnataka . As biryani is served in "Donne” ( eco friendly palm leaves , shallowed plates and cups ) , it igets the name Donne Biryani .

Serve Donne Biryani with Coriander Chicken Gravy , boiled eggs , Onion raita and wedges of lemon and onion .

Other similar recipes which we enjoy the most are Chicken Pulao and Ambur Biryani

This post shares have images clicked on different occasion and updated . As my original recipe was published in Jan 2014. Over the period of time , recipe has been updated for betterment.

What is Donne Biryani?

Unlike authentic Biryani, donne biryani has no layers of masala and rice nor rice is cooked separately . Instead , cooking method is similar to any Pulao. But its cooked with mutton/chicken stock.

In Bangalore there is a restaurant known as Shivaji Military Hotel and it is said that , Donne Biryani was their own creation. It is popular as “Banashankari Donne Biryani” .

But the restaurant is very small and over crowded all time. So I often opt for take away from this place. 

After tasting Donne Briyani from Shivaji Military Hotel often and trying lot many times I finally hooked up to with this recipe which tastes very close Banshankari Donne Biryani. So I can call this as a copycat ,Donne Biryani recipe.

This Donne Biryani is our family favorite , along with this we have few more family favorite recipes Koli Saaru , Mutton Chops , Chicken Pepper Fry dry and Chicken Ghee roast

Ingredients

Though list of ingredients looks lengthy , its more of spices which are readily available in any Indian Kitchen , short grain rice known as seeraga samba rice ( jeera rice ) , chicken or mutton and few herbs.

Check this image for ingredients used to make donne biryani recipe

Chicken / Mutton - You can either use Chicken or Mutton to make this biryani . Meat with bone is recommended to make Donne Biryani . My personal favorite is Mutton Donne Biryani .

Rice - short grain rice known as Seeraga Samba is used to make this recipe. Seeraga Samba is also known as Zeera rice . It's aromatic and adds lot of flavor. Incase if it's not available , you can use basmati rice but for sure you'll be compromising on flavor.

Whole Spices - Bay leaves , Cinnamon stick , Cloves , Mace, Fennel seeds, Shah Jeera (Caraway Seeds) , Peppercorns, Green Cardamom , Black Cardamom , Stone flower , Star Anise are used. Most importantly , Stone flower and fennel seeds , adds typical flavor to donne biryani , so try to use it. To make Biryani , always use premium quality spices .

Produce - You need fresh Coriander leaves , Mint leaves , Onion , Garlic , Ginger and green chilies to make this recipe.

Marination - Hung Curd , Ginger , Garlic , red chili powder , turmeric , lime juice ,salt and oil are used.

Other ingredients - Oil , Clarified butter , lime juice, salt and most importantly Kasuri Methi ( Dry Fenugreek Leaves ) are used. Don't skip to use Kasuri methi because it's a star ingredient in Donne Biryani .

Tips and Variations

You can always make donne biryani with either Chicken or Mutton.

Though there is no Veg Donne Biryani , you can still try it with mixed vegetables by reducing spices ( as vegetables , don't require so much amount of spices ) and keeping the ingredients and basic cooking procedure same. 

Main flavor to this biryani comes from spice and herbs blend , try to use all the mentioned spices from the ingredient list to get a authentic taste.

Cooking rice in prepared chicken or mutton stock adds lots of flavor than cooking everything together. So take some time to cook separately for getting actual taste.

In fact , Mutton Donne Biryani will me more flavorsome in comparison with Chicken Biryani.

FAQ's

Can I use long grain Basmathi Rice ?

Yeah , you can definitely use and Biryani will taste good too. But you may loose out those flavors from Seeraga samba rice.

Can I make in Instant Pot ?

Yes, you can make this recipe in the instant pot. Follow the same recipe instruction and press the “rice” button and cook. 

What is the liquid to rice ratio to cook Seerega Samba Rice?

Its 1.5 liquid for every 1 cup of Seeraga Samba rice. So be careful while adding water.

Can I cook everything together instead of preparing chicken/mutton stock?

If you need depth of flavors in biryani , I recommend to cook rice in stock. But , anyways you can cook everything together.

What preparations , I can do before hand to speed up the process?

You can prepare chicken stock from marinated chicken previous day and use it in the recipe the following day . Also you can fry ever spices , blend masala and keep in refrigerator to use on the following day.

How to store left overs?

Left over donne biryani tastes great the following day . Stays good for a day in refrigerator. Store in air tight container , reheat and serve.

What are the serving suggestions for chicken donne biryani?

Donne Biryani pairs well with simple onion cucumber raita and chicken chops masala. Always serve donne biryani with boiled eggs, raita , lemon wedges and onion slices.

Watch Video

How to make Donne Biryani :

Preparations

Firstly , marinate 700 - 750 grams chicken with all the ingredients listed under "Marination" for minimum 30 minutes, keep in refrigerator preferably.

Soak ½ kilo Jeera rice /samba rice for 30 minutes , drain water and set aside. Jeera rice is a short grain rice with its own aroma.

Whilst in a pan /pot , add oil , ghee and fry all the whole spices listed under " grinding". Add  ginger paste ( or 2 inch ginger) , garlic paste ( or garlic cloves 20- 22 ), onions 3 no's medium size ,fry till raw smell vanishes.

Add green chilies  6-8 no's , depending on the spice . Preferably add spice variant green chilies and fry well. Finally add Mint and Coriander leaves saute for a minute .

Let it cool down completely. Once it's cools down , in a mixer jar blend to a smooth paste without adding water.

To make chicken stock for donne biryani

In a pressure cooker or a pot , heat 1 teaspoon of oil .

Add cinnamon stick, cloves and green cardamoms . Let spices release its oil then add marinated chicken . Stir well and cook for 6-8 minutes .

Add 3.5 cups of water, 1 teaspoon salt and cook chicken . Alternatively  , you can pressure cook for 1 whistle .

Once chicken is cooked , separate stock and chicken. Set aside.

To make biryani

In a thick bottom pan/handi  or same pan . Heat oil , ghee add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, black Cardamom, green cardamom and star anise.

Saute for 2-3 minutes till spices release oil and aroma wafts.

Now add ground masala paste and saute for 2 minutes on medium heat.

Add cooked chicken pieces ,  mix well and cook for a minute. Add drained jeera rice  and mix well everything.

Mix jeera rice with chicken pieces and cook for 3- 4 minutes. Now add reserved chicken stock to rice and mix well everything.

When it comes to boil , stir well everything from bottom .

When rice is almost cooked for about 80 % , finally add kasoori methi / dry fenugreek leaves , lime juice and mix well. 

Lastly , cover with a lid , place any heavy object and cook on dum for 20 minutes on sim .

After 20 minutes , turn off the flame.

Open the lid , fluff rice and serve with onion tomato raita and boiled eggs.

This post has been updated from the archives, was first published in January 2014.

Recipe

4.87 from 23 votes

Donne Biryani Recipe | Easy Chicken Donne Biryani Recipe

Donne Biryani is a spicy, aromatic pulao style biryani made with short grain rice , special blend of spices and herbs

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Marination Time30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Karnataka, South India

Keyword: Biryani, Chicken, Rice Varities

Servings: 5 People

Calories: 540kcal

Author: Muktha H S

Ingredients

For Marination

• 700 grams Chicken
• ½ cup Hung Curds
• ½" inch Ginger , crushed to paste
• 4 Garlic cloves medium sizes , paste
• 1 teaspoon Red Chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1 teaspoon Refined Oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt

For Masala Paste

• 3 Onions medium size , sliced
• 6-8 Green Chilies , spice variant
• 2" inch Ginger or 1 tablespoon Ginger Paste
• 20 Garlic Cloves or 2 tablespoon Garlic Paste
• 2 " inch Cinnamon Sticks
• 4 Cloves
• ½ teaspoon BlackPeppercorns
• 2 Strands Mace /Javitri
• 3 Green Cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon Saunf /Fennel Seeds
• ½ teaspoon Stone Flower /Dagad Phool
• ½ teaspoon Black Jeera /Shahi Jeera
• ½ cup Mint leaves
• ½ cup Coriander Leaves
• 1 tablespoon Oil
• 1 tablespoon Ghee /Clarified Butter

For Cooking Chicken Stock

• 1 teaspoon Oil
• 1 no Bay Leaf
• 1 inch Cinnamon Stick
• 2-3 Cloves
• 2-3 Green Cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3.5 cups Water
• Chicken marinade

For Biryani Rice

• 500 grams Jeera Rice / Seeragam Rice
• 2 tablespoon Oil
• 2 tablespoon Ghee
• 2 Bayleaf
• 4 Cloves
• 2" inch Cinnamon Sticks
• 2 Black Cardamom
• 2 Green Cardamom
• 2 Star Anise
• 2 Marathi moggu / Kapok seeds , optional
• 2 tablespoon Kasuri Methi /Dry Fenugreek Leaves
• 1 - 1.5 tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 1.5 teaspoon Salt or as required

Instructions

• Wash and clean chicken , drain water completely . 
• Marinate with all the ingredients listed under marination for minimum 30 minutes or more ,preferably keep in refrigerator.

Directions for Masala Paste

• In a pan / kadhai , heat 1 tablespoon of oil and ghee ,add all the whole spices listed under masala paste and fry well ,till you get aroma of the spices.
• Add roughly chopped onions, ginger ,garlic and fry well till raw smell goes off.
• Add green chillies and fry well. Finally add mint and coriander leaves mix well and turn off the heat.
• Allow it to cool, Once it cools down grind it to a fine paste without adding water.

For Preparing Chicken Stock

• In a pressure cooker or a open pan , add 1 teaspoon of oil , whole spices and marinated chicken .
• Cook for 5 minutes, once chicken starts changing the color and juices starts to release, add 3.5 cups of water (for 700 to 750 grams chicken ) and bring it to boil , until chicken is cooked. Alternatively you can pressure cook for a whistle.
• When chicken is cooked , Turn off the stove and separate chicken pieces and stock. If cooking in a pressure cooker , when pressure releases, open lid and separate chicken and stock and set aside.

For Preparing Biryani

• Wash and soak jeera/seeragam rice for 10-15 minutes,drain water and keep it aside.
• In a thick bottom pan, heat ghee ,oil add bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom,cloves , star anise and fry well till spices leaves aroma to oil.
• Add above ground masala paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.
• Add cooked chicken pieces to green masala paste and  fry well.
• For this add soaked and drained rice, mix well.
• Now add chicken stock to rice ,mix well . Add about 11/2 to 2 teaspoon of salt and cook rice.
• When rice is cooked to about 80 % , add Kasuri methi, / dry fenugreek and lemon juice .
• Mix well close tight lid, place a heavy pot filled with water and cook on sim for 20 minutes, Dum cooking.
• After 20 minutes , own lid , fluff rice and serve hot.
• Serve hot with raita, boiled eggs ,onion rings and lemon wedges. 

Video

Notes

More hours you marinate ,more flavorful chicken will be.

If you are adding lemon juice while cooking add only to hot water or at the end after 80% rice is cooked. If you add to cold water it  may turn bitter.

Jerra rice is preferable over basmati rice for this type of Donne Biryani.

Salt required should be approximately 3.5- 4 teaspoon inclusive of marination, chicken stock and rice for the taken measurement.

Nutrition

Calories: 540kcal

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