Vegetable Biryani/Biriyani
Vegetable Biryani is a rice dish with cooked chunks of vegetables mixed with different spices and condiments. Biryani has different varieties and is prepared in different ways , mostly in India and the Middle-eastern countries.
Ingredients
1. Potato - peeled and cut into small cubes - about 1/2 a cup
2. Beans, Carrots, Cabbage, Peas - cut into pieces of about 1 inch length - 1 cup
3. Capsicum/Bell peppers - 1/4 cup
4. Red Onion - cut into small pieces - about 1 inch length - 1/2 cup
5. Green Chillies - 5 to 6 - slit lengthwise
6. Ginger-Garlic paste - 1/2 tea spoon
7. Chilli powder - 3/4 tea spoon
8. Cashew nuts - about 10
9. Curd/Yoghurt - 3 tea spoons
10. Long-grained Rice preferably Basmati Rice -1 cup
11. Salt - 3/4 tea spoon , Adjust as per your taste
12. Cloves - 3-4
13. Bay leaves - 1 or 2
14. Star anise - 2 to 3
15. Cinnamon strips - about 2 -3
16. Cardamom pods - 2-3
17. Jeera - 1/2 tea spoon
18. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
19.Fennel seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
20. Ghee or butter - 2 tea spoons
21. Biryani Masala powder - 2 tea spoons ( optional, please add if available to give additional flavour)
22. Curry masala powder - 2 tea spoon
23. Pepper Corn ( optional) - a few
24. Water - 21/2 to 3 cups
25. Paneer or Indian cottage cheese cubes - about 1/4 cup ( optional)
Procedure:
Rice preparation
1. Wash the basmati rice in a bowl with water and soak it in water for about 1/2 an hour before cooking
2. Cook 1 cup of rice with 1.5 cups or 1 and 3/4 cups of water(use the same cup used to measure rice), a tea spoon of oil and 1/2 tea spoon of salt. The oil is to ensure that the grains do not stick to each other when cooked.
3. After the rice is cooked, spread the rice gently using a fork on a plate and allow this to cool, else the rice will get cooked further and become mushy if allowed to sit the same hot vessel in which it was cooked.
Biryani masala preparation
1. Heat a pan and add about 2 tea spoons of oil. Fry the cloves, cinnamon, pepper corn, cardamom pods, star anise, fennel seeds, bay leaves , cashew nuts , mustard , jeera etc.
2. When the cashew nuts turn golden brown, add the ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and onion to it and saute well till they turn light brown.
3. Add the vegetables , paneer (if available), 3/4 tea spoon of salt , mix and saute them well.Add around 1/2 cup of water and mix well. (Adjust salt as required for only the vegetables, as Rice is already cooked with salt ) Cover the pan with a lid and allow to cook for about 5-8 minutes. Check occasionally and stir the vegetables till they are about 3/4th cooked.
4. Now add the chilli powder, biryani masala, curry masala powder, yoghurt etc and mix well.
5. Add 1/2 cup of water and allow the masala spices to be mixed and incorporated well with vegetables.Cover the lid and cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn off the stove.
6. Now in another pan or pressure cooker, apply 1 sppon of butter or ghee to the bottom of the vessel, Spread 1 table spoon of cooked spicy vegetables as the bottom-most layer. On top of it, add a layer of cooked basmati rice. Next on top of the rice, spread the next layer of vegetables followed by rice. Have 3 such layers of rice and vegetables. Spread fried onions on the top most layer along with some cashew nuts. Add 1 spoon of ghee/butter on top.
7. Cover this pan with a lid ( or pressure cooker lid without whistle) and cook in medium heat for about 8 to 10 minutes.
8. Serve the biryani by scooping up all layers (till bottom-most layer) of the biryani. This will give you the layers separately and you get to taste the vegetables and flavourful rice separately. Another way is to mix up the rice well with the biryani masala and vegetables and serve. This tastes very good along with Onion-yoghurt raita or kurma.
9. Have a wonderful time enjoying your spicy vegetable biryani !
