Veg Biryani
These are the last few
days of winter to enjoy all the nice juicy, crunchy and colourful veggies in their full glory. Although you can get frozen vegetables all
throughout the year, it’s hard to get that prefect taste and crunch from them.
Veg Biryani is the ideal
dish where you have the opportunity to enjoy a complete rice meal along with
all the veggies of your choice. If you have grown tired from making the same
Bengali fried rice and Basanti Pulao over and over...trust me, Veg Biryani can
be a nice change from that regularity.
Veg Biryani
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 cups of fine Basmati
Rice
2 large onions – thinly
sliced
1 small cauliflower – cut
into medium sized florets
2 medium carrots – cut
into large cubed
3 medium potatoes – peeled
and cut into halves
1 cup of green peas
6 green chillies – half
slit
½ cup of thick yogurt
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
3 tbsp Biryani Masala
¼ cup of pure desi ghee
2 medium cinnamon sticks
4 green cardamoms
4 cloves
2 bay leaves
2 tsp shah zeera / caraway
seeds
Salt
1 tsp rose water
1 tsp kewra water /
screwpine water
For the Biryani Masala :
1 large cinnamon stick
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
½ nutmeg
2 maces
3 green cardamoms
3 cloves
1 black cardamom
1 tsp shah zeera / caraway
seeds
1 tsp whole black
peppercorns
1 tsp whole white
peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 dry red chillies
1 start anise
Method:
To prepare the Biryani
masala take all the spices listed under “For the Biryani Masala” and dry roast them
on low flame for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes transfer the spices to a bowl and
let it come to room temperature.
Then grind them to a fine
powder.
Keep this masala in an
airtight container and use accordingly.
Prepare the veggies:
Wash all the vegetables.
In a kadai heat some ghee and
fry the potatoes and cauliflower separately until they become lightly golden
from the sides. When they are done take them out of the kadai and keep aside.
If required, add some more
ghee to the kadai and add cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamoms, bay leaves
and black peppercorns to it.
Sauté for half a minute
and then add the sliced onions.
Sauté until they become nicely
golden and then add the ginger-garlic and chilli paste.
Fry for a good one minute
and then add the whisked yogurt to them.
Switch the flame to low
and stir continuously until you have a curry like consistency,
Add the salt, turmeric
powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and 1 tbsp of the
prepared Biryani masala.
Stir and cook until the
oil separates.
Add the vegetables to the
curry and stir gently so that all the veggies get a good coat.
Cover and cook the
vegetables until they are half done.
Transfer the curry to a
bowl and keep aside.
Prepare the rice:
Wash the rice until clear
water runs through and then soak it in water for about half an hour.
Add around 8 cups of water
in a big pot.
Add salt and a little bit
of cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, cloves, bay leaves, shah zeera / caraway
seeds and some green chillies.
Let the water come to a
boil.
Add the rice to the boiling
water and cook until the rice is 70% cooked.
Immediately drain the
water and keep the rice in a flat tray or colander.
Layering:
Take a heavy bottomed pot (the
size of the pot depends on the quantity of the rice and vegetables taken
together. Neither it should be too big or too small. Select a pot where the
quantity of the rice and veggies when put together should be more than half of
the pot’s height) and grease the surface with a little ghee.
Now spread a medium thick
layer of cooked rice on it.
Drizzle some ghee over the
rice and sprinkle some biryani masala and chopped coriander leaves.
Now spread a layer of the
cooked veggies.
Spread another layer of
the rice over the cooked veggies, along with the ghee, coriander leaves and
biryani masala.
Repeat this process until
you have finished up all the rice and veggies.
In the final layer of the
rice, add the slit green chillies, rose water and kewra water along with the
ghee, coriander leaves and the biryani masala.
Seal the lid of the pot
with some atta dough or just cover it tightly with aluminium foil before
closing it with the lid.
Switch the flame to the lowest
and place a tawa over the flame.
Place the pot of biryani
over the tawa and cook on dum for about 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes have
passed, switch off the flame and take away the tawa.
Let the sealed pot sit for
another 10 minutes and then open the lid.
Serve immediately with
some raita.
WneucrasKdioji Alexis Thomas https://wakelet.com/wake/7iIqS4ZenlIesEAWk246X
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