Vegetable Dum Biryani

Biryani is an emotion, not just a dish! Vegetarian Dum Biryani is cooked using a special blend of whole spices, spice powders and various aromatic flavors. It is a time consuming process to make Dum Biryani, and thus, we bring to you a recipe which is quick to make and tastes exactly the same (cause some cheats are essential for a quick cook to satisfy your Biryani cravings). 

Ingredients:

For cooking rice:

1 cup basmati rice

2 tsp Ghee

1 Bay Leaf

2 Cloves

1 inch Cinnamon

1 Green Cardamom

1 Black Cardamom

1 Star Anise

4-5 Black Peppercorns

4- 5 cups Water

Salt to taste

For marination:

1 Potato (medium sized)

1 Carrot (Batonnet)

5- 6 Beans (2” long pieces)

¼ cup Peas

2 large Onions

1 cup Curd

1/8 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 1/2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder

1/2 tsp Garam Masala

1/2 tsp Coriander Powder

A pinch of Black Pepper Powder

1 tsp Green Chilli Paste

2 tsp Ginger- garlic paste

2 tbsp chopped Mint Leaves

1 tsp Kasuri Methi

¾ cups water

Salt to taste

For assemble:

4 tbsp Ghee

2 tbsp Milk

2-4 strands of Saffron

1/2 cup Water (water just enough to cook the vegetables and rice)

Method:

For Marination: 

1. In a bowl, Marinate all the vegetables (except onions) with curd, all the spice powders, ginger garlic paste, green chilli paste, mint leaves and kasuri methi. Marinate this for forty five minutes to one hour.

For Cooking rice: 

1. Wash the rice and keep aside. 
2. Take a pot and heat ghee. Once hot, add all the whole spices and cook till they splutter and release an aroma. 
3. Now add water with the rice. Half cook the rice and drain the water.

Assemble: 

1. In a pressure cooker add ghee and heat it. Now add sliced onions and cook them till brown. 
2. To this add the marinated vegetables and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add water, and cook this for one to two whistles on high flame. The vegetables should be only half cooked.
3. Once done, turn off the flame and wait for the pressure cooker to release the steam before you open the lid. Meanwhile, warm the milk and add saffron strands to it. 
4. Now layer the rice in the pressure cooker on top of the vegetables. Finally, drizzle the milk and saffron mixture over the rice.
5. On the burner, keep a heavy flat bottomed vessel and place the pressure cooker on it. Cover the pressure cooker with aluminum foil and put the lid on without the whistle. 
6. Cook for 15- 20 minutes on low flame till the vegetables and rice are cooked . Switch off the flame and let it rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot with raita and mirchi ka salan.

Tips:

1. Marination is very important for the vegetable to soak in all the flavor. A minimum of 45 to 60 min is needed for an aromatic flavorful biryani. To further save cooking time, you could marinate the vegetables a few hours in advance.

2. This recipe will give you a subtle and aromatic flavour. But if you are someone with a liking for strong spicy flavors, you can increase the quantity of the spices as per your taste.

3. You could also garnish this with some caramelized onions.