Sri's Vegetable Biryani

Thanks to my friend Srividya for sharing this delicious vegetable biryani recipe with me.
On a casual day in office, topic of discussion was food, vegetarian food..

Srividya : I can prepare hyderabadi vegetable biryani which tastes really good, may be better than non vegetarian biryani. But I know, for non vegetarians delicious biryani has to be the one made with non veg.

Me: Yeah.. For us a very good Biryani has to be the one with non veg.
Few Days Later..
Srividya: I have brought some vegetable biryani which I made at home for some guests. Would you like to taste it?
Me: Yes ofcourse, I want to taste it..
And here I am adding that vegetable biryani recipe in my blog.. She was totally right, it tasted great. Delicious. After trying the biryani from her, rightaway I asked her to share her recipe with me and with in a week we tried it at home for a weekday dinner. It came out really good, though not up to hers.

And yes, I agree that this can be a tough competition to chicken biryani.. :)

Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Saffron - 1/2 tsp
2. Milk - 1/4 cup
3. Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
4. Ghee fried cashew nuts/raisins - 2-3 tbs (optional) 
5. Ghee - 2tbs

For Veg Masala:

1. Ghee\Oil - 4 tbs
2. Onion Sliced - 1+1 cup
3. Ginger, finely chopped - 1 tbs
4. Garlic, finey chopped - 1 tbs
5. Tomato, chopped - 1 cup
6. Carrot,chopped - 1/2 cup
7. Beans, cut into small pieces - 1/2cup
8. Green peas - 1/2 cup
9. Cauliflower, chopped - 2/3 cup
10. Fenugreek leaves/fresh methi leaves, chopped - 1/2 cup
11. Salt to taste
12. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
13. Chilli powder - 1 tsp
14. Coraiander powder - 1 tsp
15. Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
16. Yogurt, whisked - 1.5 cups

For Rice:

1. Basmati Rice - 2cups
2. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
3. Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
4. Salt to taste
5. Ghee - I tbs

Note:

• Soak saffron the previous day itself and store in fridge to get dark saffron color
• Heating in oven or microwave after layering helps to give added flavour 

Method:

1. Soak saffron in 1/4 cup milk for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Rice: 

1. Wash and soak rice for 20 min
2. Drain it and keep it aside
3. Heat a thick bottomed pan for cooking rice
4. Add ghee
5. Splutter cumin seeds and add garam masala along with Rice
6. Saute for a minute in medium flame and add 4 cups of hot water and salt to taste
7. Once it starts to boil, Cover and cook rice in medium flame until all the water is absorbed and rice is cooked
8. Fluff the rice using and fork to separate rice grains 

Vegetable Masala:

 

1. Heat ghee or oil in a kadai
2. Add 1cup sliced onion and fry till golden brown and keep fried onion aside
3. Add rest of the onion to the same pan and once it is translucent, add ginger and garlic
4. Saute for a minute more
5. add all the vegetables and sauté again for 2 more minutes
6. Add fenugreek leaves and sauté for another minute
7. Add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and give a quick stir
8. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till it is mushy
9. Add yogurt to the above and mix well
10. Let the vegetables cook well in the closed kadai for about 20 minute
11. Once vegetables are cooked and gravy is thick switch off the stove 

Layering: 

1. Take a big deep flat bottomed microwave proof bowl or oven safe bowl
2. Brush a tbsp of ghee in the bowl
3. Spread a layer of rice in it, about 1/3 of rice
4. Sprinkle chopped mint leaves, 2tbs of saffron milk, 1/2 of chashewnuts, raisins and 1/2 of fried onion on the rice
5. Spread a layer of vegetable masala on the layered rice
6. Add another layer of rice and repeat the same for mint leaves, fried onion, saffron milk,chashewnuts, raisins and veg masala
7. Spread final layer of rice on top and any left over saffron milk and ghee on top
8. Close the bowl with aluminium foil and place it in hot oven for about 20 min. (If using microwave don't use aluminium foil, you may use microwave safe lid and microwave it for about 2-3min. )

Serve layered veg biryani with Raitha!

Soy Chunks Biryani

Ingredients:

For rice

1. Kyma Rice/ Basmati rice - 2 cups
2. Cinnamon-1inch piece
3. Cardamom - 3
4. Cloves - 4
5. Salt to taste
6. Ghee/ oil - 1 tbs

For masala

1. Soy chunks - 2 cups
2. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
3. Chilli powder 1/2tsp + 1 tsp
4. Coriander powder - 1.5 tbs
5. Green chilli - 2
6. Ginger,chopped - 1 tbs
7. Garlic, chopped - 1 tbs
8. Onion, sliced - 1.5 cups
9. Coconut milk thick paste - 1/2 cup
10. Coconut, shredded - 2 tbs
11. Tomato, chopped - 1 cup
12. Cloves - 3
13. Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
14. Cardamom - 3
15. Oil - 2 tbs
16. Salt to taste
17. Coriander leaves, chopped - 1/4 cup + 2tbs 
18. Ghee fried cashews and raisins - 1/2 cup ( optional) 

Note : If soy chunks are big, cut them into half after soaking them in hot water for 15 min

Chunks masala

Method :

1. Wash rice properly and cook them with 4 cups of water along with spices and salt. 
2. Soak chunks in hot water for 15 min
3. Squeeze out the water from the chunks
4. Sprinkle a pinch of turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp of chilli powder and salt on the chunks and mix them well and keep it aside
5. Heat oil in a pan, add spices from 12 to 14 and fry for 30 sec
6. Add ginger, garlic , green chilli and onion with a bit of salt to it and sauté for 5 min. You may keep the pan closed with a lid till onion is slightly browned
7. Add coriander leaves and chunks and fry for 2 more minutes
8. Add tomato, chilli powder, turmeric powder , salt and coriander powder and mix well and sauté again
9. When tomatoes are soft and chunks are almost cooked, add coconut milk
10. When the gravy is almost dried, add shredded coconut and roast for 2 more minutes and switch off the flame
11. Mix rice and chunks masala well and top it with coriander leaves, fried cashews and raisins. (I haven't used cashews and raisins in my biryani)
12. Serve the biryani hot with raitha.

I have garnished biryani with carrot julienne. :)

Malabar Chicken Dum Biryani

 

 

 

First of all let me thank Suja chechi, my cousin for sharing this recipe with me.

Let us directly move to the recipe now :)

 

Ingredients 

For rice

1. Kyma/Katori rice - 2.5 cups
2. Oil/ghee - 2 tbs
3. Cinnamon stick - small
4. Cardamon - 3
5. Star anise - 1
6. Cloves - 4
7. Bay leaf - 1
8. Salt to taste

For paste

1. Green chilli - 2
2. Garlic cloves - 4
3. Ginger - 1 inch piece
4. Yogurt - 1 tbs
5. Fennel seeds( perunjeerakam) - 1.5 tsp
6. Cumin seeds( jeerakam) - 1/2 tsp
7. Black pepper - 6
8. Cloves - 4
9. Cardamon - 1
10. Cinnamon -  small piece
11. Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

For chicken

1. Chicken pieces  - 1/2 kg
2. Onion sliced - 2 medium
3. Tomato cut - 2 medium
4. Salt to taste
5. Coriander leaves chopped - 2 tbs
6. Mint leaves chopped - 1 tbs
7. Lime juice - 1 lime

For garnish

1. Onion thin slices - 1/2 onion
2. Cashewnut split - 10-12
3. Raisins - 8-10
4. Coriander leaves chopped - 2 tbs
5. Ghee/ clarified butter - 2 tbs
6. Milk - 1/2 cup
7. Saffron - a pinch
8. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Preparation

For chicken masala:

1. Make a paste using the ingredients from "For paste" list 
2. Clean chicken pieces and marinate using the above paste, salt and mix with onion slices and tomato
3. In a heavy bottomed vessel, add the chicken mixture and a cup of water to cook chicken well
4. When chicken is almost cooked add coriander leaves/minleaves and lime juice
5. Once chicken is cooked well and gravy is thick, switch off the flame for chicken. 

 

For Rice

1. Wash and clean rice
2. In pressure cooker or any other pot, heat ghee mentioned under "For rice"
3. Add everything except rice from "For rice" ingredients and stir.
4. Add rice and stir for a minute more and add 5 cups of water and salt to taste
5. Cook rice well.( If in pressure cooker 5 minutes in medium flame should be enough. Open the cooker only after full pressure is gone)
6. Once rice is cooked, fluff it using a fork so that the rice doesn't stick to each other

 

For garnish

 

1. Heat ghee in a pan
2. Add onion and fry till it is crisp and take it from ghee and keep it aside
3. Fry cashews to golden brown and raisins till they bulge  in ghee and keep aside. 
4. Mix turmeric and saffron in hot milk

 

Layering

1. Take an oven safe dish (if using oven) or a heavy bottom vessel with tight lid
2. Layer half of the chicken masala in it. 
3. Top with half of the cooked rice
4. Now add half of the fried garnish mix
5. Again layer the remaining chicken, rice and fried garnish 
6. Top with coriander leaves
7. And pour the turmeric saffron milk on the top
8. Close the lid and bake for 20 min
9. If not baking, heat a heavy metal griddle and keep biryani vessel with lid on , on top of the griddle for 20 minutes. 

 

The order I followed for the above is

1. Marinate chicken
2. Cook rice
3. While rice is cooking fry garnish items
4. Fluff the rice
5. Cook chicken
6. Make turmeric saffron milk 
7. Layer and bake

Malabar chicken dum biryani is ready to be served with salad, pickle and pappadam and sulaimani at the end :)

Chicken Dum Biryani

Be it a special occasion or a normal Sunday lunch, this chicken Dum Biryani can make your day special.. Here at home we usually make chicken biryani on Sunday. But the one we make is Malabar chicken biryani. The below recipe for chicken dum biryani is different from that.

Ingredients:
For Rice

1. Kyma/ jeera/basmati rice - 2cups
2. Cinnamon stick -1inch piece
3. Cloves - 5
4. Star anise -1
5. Cardamon - 3
6. Ghee -1tbs
7. Salt to taste

For Chicken

1. Cut chicken - 1/2kg
2. Chopped ginger - 1tbs
3. Chopped garlic - 1tbs
4. Green chilli - 1
5. Turmeric powder - 1tsp
6. Chilli powder - 1tbs
7. Pepper powder -1/2tsp
8. Biryani masala - 1tbs
9. Mint leaves chopped - 2tbs
10. Coriander leaves chopped - 1cup
11. Yogurt - 2tbs
12. Tomato sliced - 3medium
13. Onion sliced - 1
14. Oil - 2tbs
15. Salt to taste

Direction

1. Soak washed rice in water for 20min and drain it
2. Boil 3.5 cups of water, add ingredients under "For Rice" from 2 to 5.
3. Add drained rice, salt and ghee and cook with closed lid until rice 95 % cooked. There wouldn't be any left out water to drain from rice at this point.
4. Using a fork fluff up the rice so that it doesn't stick to each other
5. Clean the cut chicken and marinate using ingredients under "For Chicken" from 2 to 11 for 30 minute.
6. heat the oil in a bottom thick pan and sauté onion.
7. Once onion is golden brown, add tomatoes and marinated chicken and cook in high flame  with closed lid.
8. After 10 minutes reduce the flame to low-medium, and add the rice on top of chicken masala
9. Close the lid and cook for 15 more minutes and switch off the stove.
10. Open the lid only after 30minutes to fill your house with aromas of the spicy Dum Biryani!