Heat the oil over medium heat in a sauté pan or a wide, deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Add the sliced onions once the oil is hot.

Fry for 8 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally so they brown evenly.

Watch them closely as soon as they start to brown: they should be deep golden but not dark.

Take them out of the oil before they get too dark, as they keep browning in the residual heat.

Spread them out on a large platter to cool: they turn crisp as they cool.

Set aside one third of the fried onions for assembly.

Save the onion-flavored frying oil.

Blend the garlic, ginger and green chilies into a smooth paste in a small blender.

Whisk the yogurt.

Put the chicken pieces in a large bowl.

Add the yogurt, the garlic, ginger and chili paste, the Kashmiri chili, turmeric, ground coriander, salt and lemon juice.

Add the remaining two-thirds of the fried onions and the chopped cilantro and mint.

Pour in the onion frying oil and the ghee.

Mix with your hands (wearing gloves) for a good while, until every piece of chicken is well coated.

Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 5 to 6 hours.

Take the chicken out of the refrigerator 30 to 45 minutes before cooking so it cooks evenly and stays tender.

Put the rice in a large bowl.

Rinse it under running water, swirling it around and gently rubbing the grains with your fingertips.

Repeat 3 to 5 times, until the water is almost clear.

Soak the rice in cool water for 20 to 30 minutes while the chicken cooks.

Put the marinated chicken in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven with a lid: this is the pot you will assemble the biryani in, so it must be big enough to hold both the chicken and the rice.

Sprinkle the biryani masala over the chicken and stir.

Cook over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the chicken firms up and juices appear in the pot.

Cover and cook for another 12 to 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and the sauce is thick enough to coat it, without the meat falling off the bone.

Transfer the chicken masala to a dish and set aside.

While the chicken is cooking, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil with the salt, oil, lemon juice, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.

Drain the soaked rice.

Pour it into the boiling water.

Stir gently once or twice so it doesn't stick to the bottom.

Cook the rice until it is about 95% cooked: at that point the grains rise to the surface of the water.

Drain the rice in a colander and remove the whole spices.

Soak the saffron in the warm milk.

Generously brush the bottom and sides of the pot with ghee.

Spread half the rice over the bottom of the pot.

Sprinkle half the biryani masala over the rice.

Spread all the chicken masala over the rice.

Scatter half the chopped herbs and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the reserved fried onions over the chicken.

Cover with the rest of the rice, spreading it out so the chicken is completely hidden.

Sprinkle the rest of the biryani masala over the rice.

Scatter over the rest of the fried onions, the slit green chilies, the julienned ginger and the rest of the herbs.

Drizzle generously with the rest of the ghee, the kewra water and the saffron milk.

Sprinkle the food coloring over the rice.

Close the pot tightly with its lid, sealing the edge with aluminum foil or a rope of dough (flour and water).

Let it steam over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes without opening the lid: this is the dum.

Turn off the heat and let the biryani rest for 20 minutes with the lid on so the rice firms up.

Open the pot and gently fluff the rice with a flexible spatula, starting from the edge of the pot.

Serve by scooping the biryani from the edge of the pot with a small saucer or a spatula, so you don't break the rice grains.