Biryani is said to be Persian dish brought to India by Mughals. Now very popular in India, every region has a different way of preparing it.
Veg Dum Biryani is cooked with separate cooking of vegetables and basmati rice and then layered and cooked on dum.
Soak the rice in 1 cup of water for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes drain the rice and keep aside.
Take a deep bottomed pan. Add 5 cups water and heat the water on a high flame.
When the water becomes hot, add ½ tsp salt -tej patta, green cardamoms, cloves, black cardamom and nutmeg.
Bring the water to a boil, Then add the rice. Do not reduce the flame and continue to cook the rice.
The rice has to be 80% cooked. The grains should have a slight bite to them when cooked. The rice should not be fully cooked but almost cooked.
Drain the rice in a strainer. keep aside.
In a small pan take 1tsp of oil, once it become hot, add 1/2 cup diced onion.
saute till they become caramelize, keep aside.
In a pressure cooker or a large pan, heat ghee.
Add the following spices -shah jeera, tej patta, green cardamoms, cloves, black cardamom, cinnamon. Saute the masala till they crackle.
Now add the onions. Stir and saute them on a low to medium flame.
Onions take a lot of time to cook, so add a pinch of salt to quicken the cooking process. When the onions are cooking, take fresh curd in a bowl. Beat the curd with a spoon or whisk till it become smooth. Saute the onions till they become golden brown or caramelize.
Saute the onions till they become golden brown or caramelize. Now add the ginger-garlic paste and green chillies. Saute till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
Add the turmeric and red chili powder. Stir and mix well. Next add the chopped veggies. Saute for a minute or two.
Add the yogurt. Stir. Then add water, add some salt, Stir again.
Pressure cook for 1 whistle on medium flame. Don’t over cook the vegetables.
Warm 4 to 5 tbsp milk in a small pan on the gas. Add saffron strands. Stir and keep aside.
When the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid and check the gravy. If the vegetables are not cooked well, then keep the cooker on the gas and simmer the vegetable biryani gravy without the lid, till the vegetables are cooked. If there is too much of water in the gravy, then simmer till some water dries up. The veg biryani gravy should have a medium or slightly thick consistency and should not be watery.
Now add dry fruits to the vegetable gravy. Mix and stir. Keep aside. check the salt. Add more if required.
Now in a thick bottomed pan, layer half of the veg biryani gravy first.
Then layer half of the rice.
Sprinkle half of the chopped coriander, mint leaves, caramelize onion and saffron milk.
Layer the remaining veg biryani gravy.
Layer the remainder of the rice. Sprinkle the remaining coriander, mint leaves, onion, saffron milk on the top. You can make 2 layers or 4 layers like I have done. But do remember that rice should be the last layer.
Now seal and secure the pot with aluminium foil. Then cover with a lid. You can also seal the pot with a moist cotton cloth and then cover with the lid.
Take a tava/griddle and heat it on medium flame. When the tawa become hot, then lower the flame. Keep the sealed veg biryani handi on the tava.
Keep the flame to the lowest and cook for 25-30 minutes. You can also dum cook veg biryani for the first 15 minutes on direct low flame and then for the last 10 minutes, place the handi on the hot tava and cook on a low flame.
Once done, give a standing time of 5 to 7 minutes and then serve.
Serve the delicious hyderabadi veg biryani with your choice of raita, onion salad, mango pickle, roasted papad.
6 servings
* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.