Try me from Recipe Basket.......: Vegetable Dum Biriyani

Description:

Biriyani is mixed rice dish made of spices, meat, rice, vegetables etc. There are many types of biriyani but I love the dum biriyani.

Ingredients:

1. Basamati rice - 2 cup
2. Carrot - 1
3. Potato - 2 medium
4. Beans - 10
5. Onion - 1
6. Chilli powder - 1tspn
7. Coriander powder - 1tspn
8. Garam masala - 1/2 tspn
9. Cumin seeds
10. Fennel seeds
11. Green chilli - 2
12. Curd(thick) - 1cup
13. Turmeric powder - 1/2tspn
14. Cloves - 3
15. Black cardamom - 2
16. Star Anise - 3
17. Cinnamom stick - 1
18. Black peppercorn
19. Bay leaves - 4 to 5
20. Nutmeg - 1 tspn
22. Coriander leaves - a bunch
23. Oil/ghee
24. Salt to taste

Procedure:

First soak the basmati rice for atleast 40 minutes to 1hour. Next cut the onions into thin slices to make fried onion or birista. Take a skillet and pour enough oil to deep fry the onions. Keep on stirring to make sure the onions don`t get burnt. Once you see the onions are slightly changing colour then immediately take them out otherwise it will get burnt. Transfer the fried onions on a tissue paper to drain excess oil.

Next chop the carrots, potatoes, beans, green chillies. Potatoes should be cut into bigger sizes than carrots and beans, because potatoes cooks fast. Crush the ginger and garlic to make a paste or even you can use the readymade paste. Take a skillet and pour oil. Add cumin, bay leaf first then add the chopped veggies. Close the lid and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the ginger/garlic paste and chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt, fennel seeds, coriander leaves and garam masala. Mix well and cook till the veggies are half cooked. Once the veggies are half cooked, turn off the stove and let it cool for 1 minute and add the curd. Curd should be thick. Throw in the cloves, caradamom, peppercone, nutmeg too and mix really well. Check for salt. Keep the salt level little high that normal. Set aside the veggie mix.

I had a little assistant helping me to transfer the veggies to a bowl. LOL(my little girl)

Take a stockpot/and deep vessel and fill it with water. Add ghee/oil, cumin, star anise, cinnamom stick, bay leaf and little salt. Allow the water to boil. Meanwhile wash the basmati rice and put it into the stockpot. Give occasional stirs in between and check the rice. When the rice is 50% cooked , swtich of the stove and drain the rice into a sieve. Keep it aside for few minutes and let all the water drain away. Meanwhile soak some saffron in warm milk.

Next take your biriyani making vessel/any vessel with flat bottom. First spread the vegetable mix into the vessel then goes in the fried onion. If you have mint leaves at home please add them too. Next add the rice and spread evenly and finally on top pour the saffron milk.

We can put dum in two ways one is traditional method to make a dough and seal the biriyani. I will upload a recipe with dough sealing. For this recipe I use a rather easy method and that is, first double seal the top of the vessel with aluminium foil, then put the lid on top and finally a weight to suppress the steam which helps in cooking the biriyani. Once sealing is over, switch on the stove and turn the heat to medium. Cook the biriyani for 8-10 minutes over direct heat(medium flame) then place a frying pan on the stove and shift the biriyani vessel over it. Turn the heat to low and leave it for 15-20 minutes. Once the biriyani is cooked, switch off the stove and leave the vessel for sometime.