Polydish city guide

Best Hyderabadi Dum Biryani in London

“Sealed in dough and slow-cooked over coal — the steam does things to rice that no other method can.”

What the real thing tastes like

Raw marinated meat is layered with parboiled rice and sealed inside a dough-lidded pot — called kachchi style. The heat builds inside and the meat cooks entirely in its own steam alongside the rice. No other biryani version does this. The result is rice that absorbs meat juices from below and saffron-infused ghee from above simultaneously. Reviewers consistently describe the aroma when the seal is broken at the table as the defining moment of the dish.

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Across thousands of reviews, one moment dominates: the seal breaking at the table and the saffron steam escaping. People describe travelling across cities for a specific version of it, and the harshest criticism is reserved for places that skip the dum and merely mix cooked rice with curry. When the kachchi method is done honestly, reviewers say the bottom layers of rice — soaked in marinade and rendered fat — are worth the entire wait.