Veg Biryani

is an exotic rice dish popular in middle east and south asian countries. Hyderabadi Biriyani is quite famous among food lovers. It is a mix of basmathi rice, yoghurt, vegetables, meat and spices. My Biriyani has everything but meat and yet tastes as spicy as a non-veg Biriyani. Maybe you can add pieces of mushroom or paneer to give a better effect. This recipe has a lot of ingredients with a laborious preparation yet worth trying.

Ingredients :

Basmathi rice - 1/4 kg

Onions 1

Beans 100 g

Carrots 1

Peas 1/2 cup

Yoghurt 1/2 cup

To be soaked in curd :

Chopped tomatoes 1 or 2

Dhania powder - 1 tsp

Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala powder - 1 tsp

Slit green chillies - 4

Mint - few leaves finely chopped

Coriander - a handful finelychopped

Bay leaves - 2

Cardamom - 2

Cloves - 3

Cinnamon - 2

Saffron - a pinch

Grind to a fine paste

Ginger - a small piece

Garlic - 1

Green chillies - 3

Method

1. Wash and soak rice for 10 min( Always soak the basmathi rice before cooking to get longer grains)

2. Fry in melted butter along with 1 teaspoon of saunf and bay leaves till light brown.

3. Cook with 1.5 times water. If you pressure cook, wait till pressure builds up(abt 5 min) and then open the lid. Add salt and cook on low fire.

5. Cut veg into thin long strips and pressure cook without water.

6. Cut onions into thin long strips and fry in a little melted butter or oil till tender.

7. Add other boiled veg and then curd paste and fry till the gravy is dry and mix with rice.

8. Grease a heavy vessel with a little ghee and add the rice. Cover and keep it on low flame for 10 min. You can even place it in a pre-heated oven for 10 min.

9. Garnish with chopped coriander, fried cashews and paneer. You can also add fried bread pieces.