Vegetable biryani/Dum biryani

VEGETABLE DUM BIRYANI 

Recipe by Priyanka Agarwal

Prep time   : 20 min

Cook time  : 40 min

Total time   : 60 min

Ingredients

For Biryani Masala:

2 inch cinnamon stick/dalchini

Black cardamom/Badi elaichi

10-15 peppercorns/Kali mirchi 

1 Tbsp coriander seeds/sabut dhaniya

1/2 Tbsp fennel seeds/saunf

2-3 mace/javitri

4-5 cloves/laung

1 star anise/biryani phool

1 bay leaf/tej patta

1 tsp cumin/shah jeera

Vegetables:

2-3 small size carrots 

Bunh of fresh beans

2 medium sized potatoes

(cut all the above vegetables )

7-8 cauliflower florets

Coriander leaves finey chopped

Bunch of Mint leaves

3-4 onions thinly sliced

4-5 tomatoes finely chopped

Other Ingredients:

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

5-7green chilles made into a paste

3/4 cup curd

Few strands of saffron soaked in hot milk

2 tsp shah jeera

1 tsp garam masala powder

salt to taste

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp ghee

1/2 nutmeg

Oil for frying veggies

Basmati rice 1 cup 

Procedure:

For preparing biryani masala, roast all the dry spices on a medium flame for 4-5 minutes. Let them ool down n then grind it into a fine powder.

In a pan add 2 tsp of ghee/oil and then cook the finely chopped tomatoes until they become soft. After that let it ool dowm and then make  smooth paste out of it and keep aside.

In a pan/kadhai add sufficient oil required to fry the veggies.

After the oil becomes hot fry beans,carrt,potatoes,cauliflowe florets and set them aside.

Now fry onions till they become golden brown, and also fry the mint leaves and set aside.

For boiling the rice, wash and soak basmati rice for 10 mins. Then boil the rice, add some Shah jeera,1 bay leaf while boiling. This shall add flavour to the rice.(u can also dd a little lemon juice and oil while boiling so that the basmati rice doesnt turn sticky).

Preparing the gravy:

In a large pan add 2 tsp of ghee, once it becomes hot add shah jeera. as it starts spluttering add ginger garlic paste,green chillies paste. once the raw flavour is gone add the previously made tomato paste,biryani masala and cook for a min. Now add all the boiled veggies and curd. Add turmeric powder,red chilli powder,garam masala and cook for a min. Add little water to adjust the consistency.cover and cook on low flame for 5 min.

Layering the Pan/Handi.

Take a pan and grease it with ghee. Now add a layer of Cooked basmati rice. On top of it add a layer of prepared gravy,garnish it with fried onions and mint leaves. Again layer it with rice and repeat the process. Now add the saffron soaked milk on top of it. Add a 1/2 Tbsp of ghee over it. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.Grate a little nutmeg/jaiphal over the rice and leave it aside for 5 minutes.

To dum the biryani, cover the utensil with foil/atta dough/moist cloth. In a large vessel(large enough to fit in the biryani handi) add water and let it boil. Now put the handi in it and lower the flame. Let it cook for 5-7 minutes Alternatively you can also dum the biryani on a hot tawa.. 

Serve it hot in layers and enjoy it with raita or salan.