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1
Combine the Guntur chilli paste, yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala and oil into a unified masala paste. Coat the meat thoroughly and marinate for a minimum of 4 hours, refrigerated, so the acidic yoghurt and chilli have time to work into the muscle around the bone rather than sitting as a shell on the surface. The paste must penetrate to the bone; the surface should show no bare patches of meat.
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2
Fry the sliced onions in hot oil in large batches until deep mahogany — darker than golden, not burnt — working in batches so the oil stays hot enough to drive off moisture quickly rather than stewing the onions pale. The oil will cease to bubble actively as the moisture leaves; the onions will crisp and darken, and it is this concentrated sweetness that forms the counterbalance to the Guntur chilli load in the finished dish. Drain on absorbent paper and set aside in quantity; their weight in the dish is not decorative.
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3
In a heavy-based pot, heat a film of oil over high heat, add the marinated meat with all its paste, and cook, stirring regularly, until the masala has dried down, darkened, and the fat visibly separates at the edges of the pot, because fat releasing from the paste is the clearest sign the raw spice has cooked out and will not taste sharp and floury in the finished rice. The smell shifts from raw yoghurt and chilli to a roasted, caramelised depth. This is where the dish lives or dies: the masala must be fully cooked into the meat before the rice is added, as an under-cooked paste will not penetrate the grain in the brief dum stage that follows.
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4
Bring the salted water to a rolling boil with the whole spices, then add the drained seeraga samba rice and parboil until the grain is approximately 70 per cent cooked — it should offer clear resistance at the centre when pressed between thumb and forefinger — so the grain can finish cooking gently inside the sealed pot without turning soft and collapsing under the steam. Drain immediately.
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5
Spread the partially cooked rice over the meat-masala layer in an even stratum, then scatter the birista liberally across the surface — use more than seems necessary, as they will soften and dissolve their sweetness down through the grain during the dum. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid, sealing with a rope of dough or foil if the lid is not snug, so that the trapped steam cooks the rice from every direction rather than escaping and leaving the centre dry. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cook for 15–20 minutes; the pot should hiss faintly but hold its seal.
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6
Remove the lid: the rice at the surface should have absorbed the steam and coloured slightly from the masala migrating upward, while the grains at the base will be stained red-orange from the Guntur paste. The meat should be tender through to the bone. Taste the rice from the lower stratum for heat and integration — it should carry the Andhra masala throughout, not only at the surface — then serve directly from the pot.