CG Special Biryani
This is the dish we put our name on. CG Special Biryani is a full dum biryani with Chicken 65 laid over the top — the slow-cooked, aromatic rice dish underneath, the sharp fried chicken above, eaten together.
What dum means. Dum is the method, and it's the difference between real biryani and rice mixed with curry. Marinated chicken and partially cooked basmati are layered in a heavy pot with fried onions, mint, coriander and saffron-steeped milk. The lid is sealed — traditionally with dough — and the pot goes over low heat. With nowhere to escape, the steam cooks the rice through while the chicken releases its juices upward into the layers above. Nothing is stirred. When the seal is broken at the table you get the aroma all at once, and the rice comes out in distinct grains, some white, some stained golden and orange, each carrying a different concentration of spice. That layering is why a spoonful from one part of the bowl tastes different from another.
The Chicken 65 on top. Chicken 65 is a South Indian dish — boneless chicken marinated in red chili, ginger, garlic, yogurt and curry leaves, then fried until deep red and crisp at the edges. On its own it's a starter. On top of biryani it does something more useful: it adds crunch and a sharper, more direct heat against the soft, fragrant rice below. The biryani is aromatic and layered; the Chicken 65 is loud. They work because they're not the same kind of spicy.
How spicy is it? Medium to hot as it comes. The biryani itself is moderately spiced — warm rather than fiery — but Chicken 65 carries real chili heat. We cook to a 1–10 scale, so tell us where you want it and the kitchen will adjust. If you're unsure, order it as it comes and keep the raita close.
What it comes with. Raita, which isn't optional in spirit. Cool cucumber yogurt against hot spiced rice is the traditional pairing and it genuinely works — the dairy fat breaks down chili heat where water can't. Add a mango lassi if you're ordering toward the hot end. You don't need bread with biryani; it's a complete dish, and ordering naan alongside it usually means leftovers.
Portion. Biryani is generous by nature. One order is a full meal for one person with enough left for lunch the next day, or a reasonable share between two people ordering other dishes as well.
Dietary notes. Contains chicken, dairy from the yogurt marinade and the raita, and wheat if any of the garnishes are fried in a flour coating — ask us if that matters. Not gluten-free as standard. For vegetarians at the same table, we serve a vegetable dum biryani cooked the same way.
Takeout and catering. Biryani travels better than almost anything else on the menu — it's designed to be made in a sealed pot and served from it, so twenty minutes in a container doesn't hurt it. The Chicken 65 does soften slightly in transit; if that bothers you, ask for it packed separately. It's one of our most-requested catering trays in Charlotte for office lunches, birthdays and family events, and it reheats well the next day.
Available at all Curry Gate locations — Uptown at 101 N Tryon St, South Blvd, and West 24th Street — for dine-in, pickup, delivery and catering.
