Vegetable Biryani

The Vegetable Biryani can be deceiving. It is not easy to make a rice dish, with vegetables, without being bland and lacklustre. Here is a recipe that will pleasantly surprise you! Easy and Quick and still has a delicious Biryani punch line to it!

The Recipe Intro has more pics and information as well as Recipe Video. Don’t forget to check it out.

Ingredients:

Basmati rice		2 cups
Water		4 cups
Potatoes		3 large
Fresh Cauliflower		300 gms
French beans		1/2 cup
Green peas or Paneer - I use frozen, thawed green peas Or thawed, firm Paneer cubes		1/2 cup
Carrot, diced		1/4 cup
Red onion, sliced thinly		2
Large tomatoes, chopped into large pieces		2
Oil ( sunflower/ veg / corn oil)		1/2 cup
Ghee / clarified butter		2 Tbsp
Garlic, minced		3 tsp
Ginger , minced		1 1/2 tsp
Hot green chillies - left whole ( use more if you like)		3
Salt ( 1 tsp plus 1 1/2 tsp)		To taste
Large cloves garlic (whole) * - important - to be removed after frying		5-6
Fresh cilantro (coriander) , chopped		1/2 cup
Chilli powder		1 tsp
Coriander powder		1 tsp
Turmeric powder		1/2 tsp

Whole Spices:

Small sticks cinnamon		4-5
Black peppercorns		1/2 tsp
cloves (spice)		6
Green cardamom pods		8 green
Bay leaves		3

Method:

1. Rinse the rice till the water runs clear. Soak for 10 minutes only. Drain now so that it it almost dry but the time you add it to the pot.
2. Peel, rinse and cut the potatoes, into large chunks.
3. Rinse and break the cauliflower florets into large chunks as well.
4. String and cut the beans into just over inch-long pieces.  Thaw the frozen green peas and drain any water. Dice the carrot.
5. Slice Onion. Finely chop or mince the ginger and garlic.
6. Heat oil in a non-stick pot for cooking the biryani.
7. Add the potato chunks and fry on high heat, stirring around to get some golden colour all around.
8. Add the whole garlic cloves to the oil This helps to flavour the oil and the potato as well.
9. Once potatoes are golden, add the cauliflower chunks as well and keep stirring till the cauliflower crust turns light golden as well. We don’t want to cook the potato and cauliflower here, just get that golden crust on the outside, to seal and prevent them from breaking apart, when cooking the rice.
10. Use a slotted spoon/strainer to scoop out the potato first, giving the cauliflower a bit more time to cook on the edges. Remove everything to a plate and set it aside. Discard the browned garlic cloves.
11. To the oil remaining in the pot,  add the ghee.
12. When heated, add the whole spices and allow to crackle.
13. Add the onion and saute briefly till softened, followed by minced garlic and ginger. Sauté everything on moderate heat, for a minute, with stirring. (Don’t allow it to go brown, just s slight change of colour).
14. Add the spice powders (Chilli, Coriander, Turmeric) and stir till a lovely aroma replaces the raw spice smell.
15. Now, return the Potatoes and Cauliflower. Toss gently, but thoroughly in the masala, to coat well. Also stir in 1 tsp salt.
16. Once these are evenly coated and coloured, add the remaining vegetables. First, the tomato. Simply stir through.
17. Add beans, peas and carrot. Stir through.
18. Now add the drained rice and mix in to incorporate. Just give it a minute to heat through.
19. Add pre-measured water and bring to a boil. Add 1 1/2  – 1 3/4 tsp salt ( to taste ).
20. As soon as the water boils, reduce heat, cover with a tight lid and reduce the heat to the lowest.
21. Cook covered for 8-10 minutes. Don’t stir in between. Just listen to the sounds of the pot.
22. When water is absorbed, you will hear hissing from the bottom of the pot. (I simply time it for 1 minuteafter i hear any noise, and then turn the heat off).
23. Quickly, fluff up the rice from the bottom. Just 2-3 turns of the ladle from the bottom of the pot. Too much mixing at this stage will cause the rice to get mushy. Also do not leave the cooked rice in the pot long before fluffing up the rice. This will give you mushy rice too.
24. Leave in an airy spot or under a fan, for all that trapped steam to escape. Then the delicious Vegetable Biryani is ready to serve with a simple Raita or any other side dish. Try my Creamy Carrot Raita.

Vegetable Biryani

Notes:

• You can use your own choice of vegetables, but please try this combination first.. you can cater to your taste from this recipe.
• Make sure you use fresh cauliflower. Using cauliflower that has been forgotten in the fridge from last week, will ruin this dish completely.
• I often use paneer instead of green peas. That’s good too.

Key Ingredients: Rice, Potato, Cauliflower, Beans, Peas, Carrot, Tomato, Onion, Garlic, Ginger, Green Chilli, Cilantro (Coriander)Oil, Ghee, Salt, Whole Spices, Ground Spices.

EAT AND TELL!!! Let us know if you tried –  Vegetable Biryani

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