Vegetable Biryani

I love rice dishes and am always on the lookout for single pot rice dishes. Biryani is a special rice dish, with vegetables, nuts all goodies in one. Its a labor intensive preparation, but the outcome is so delicious, its totally worth the effort.
Hyderabad , a beautiful city in South India, is famous for its biryanis, both veg and non-veg.

I was looking for a recipe for a lot of days, and this one from showmethecurry.com is a keeper. It turned out perfect the first time I made it. I followed the exact recipe posted on this site, writing it down again here for my own reference.

The list of ingredients and the steps can get overwhelming, but its basically a layered dish of rice and vegetables, and one can substitute any vegetable.

For instance, I did not add tomato and paneer, instead added pineapple as that's what I had at hand.


Ingredients:
For Rice:
Basmati Rice  2 cups  washed, soaked for 1 hr and drained
Water  8 cups
Bay Leaf  1
Cloves  5
Green Cardamom  1
Cinnamon Stick  1 inch piece
Salt  to taste
Oil  1 tsp
Mint Leaves  few
Clarified Butter (Ghee)  1 Tbsp
Saffron  1/4 tsp soaked in 2 Tbsp water
For Biryani Masala:
Whole Dried Red Chilies  6
Whole Cloves  6
Whole Coriander Seeds  2 Tbsp


For Vegetable Mixture:
Ginger/Garlic Paste  2 Tbsp
Coriander Powder  2 tsp
Turmeric Powder  1/4 tsp
Salt  to taste
Potatoes  3 medium, peeled and cut into large pieces
Cauliflower  1/2 medium, cut into big florets
Frozen Green Peas  1 cup
Green Beans  1 cup, cut into long pieces
Carrots  1/2 cup, cut into big pieces
Green Chilies  3 to 4 (or to taste), slit
Mint Leaves  handful
Dried Fenugreek Leaves  2 Tbsp
Cilantro (Coriander Leaves)  small bunch, finely chopped
Tomato  1 large, cut into big pieces
Pineapple cubes 1 cup
Yogurt  1 cup, lightly beaten
Oil  3 Tbsp
Whole Cashews  1/4 cup
Walnuts  1/4 cup
Paneer  1 cup, cubed
Black Cumin Seeds (Shahi Jeera)  1/2 tsp
Cinnamon stick 1 inch piece
Cloves  4
Black Cardamom  1
Bay Leaf  1
Onion  1 large, sliced
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp


For Garnishing: Chopped Cilantro.


Method:
1. Soak Saffron in 2 Tbsp of water and set aside for later use.
2. For the rice: Bring 8 cups of water to a rolling boil and add Cinnamon Stick, Bay Leaf, Whole Cloves, Green Cardamom, 1 tsp Oil, Salt, drained soaked rice and a few mint leaves.
3. Set a timer and cook rice for exactly 5 minutes. Immediately drain the water from the rice and addClarified Butter (ghee) and mix gently making sure not to break the rice grains. Rice should be 3/4 cooked  not fully cooked.
4. For the Biryani Masala: In a skillet, add Whole Dried Red Chilies, Whole Cloves and Whole Coriander Seeds. Dry roast until the spices release a nice fragrance and have browned (do not burn).
5. Allow whole spices to cool before roughly grinding them (should not be a fine powder). Set aside.
6. For Vegetable Mixture: In a bowl, add Ginger/Garlic Paste, Coriander Powder, 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder, and Salt  mix well.
7. Add Potatoes, Cauliflower, Green Peas, Green Beans, Carrots, Green Chilies, Cilantro, chopped Mint Leaves, Dried Fenugreek Leaves  Mix well and allow to marinate while you work on the rest of the steps.
8. In a non-stick pan, heat 3 Tbsp Oil on medium heat.
9. Add Whole Cashews and Walnuts and saute until they are golden brown. Drain off all excess oil from them nuts and remove them onto a plate. Set aside.
10. In the same, add cubed Paneer and saute until golden brown. Drain excess oil from Paneer and remove onto a plate. Set aside.
11. In the same Oil, add Black Cumin Seeds and allow them to sizzle.
12. Add Cinnamon Stick, Bay Leaf, Whole Cloves and Black Cardamom.
13. Add Sliced Onions and brown lightly.
14. Add 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder, 1 Tbsp (or to taste) previously ground Biryani Masala, salt and mix well.
15. Add marinate vegetable mixture and additional salt, mix thoroughly, cover and cook until the veggies are 3/4 cooked. Do not overcook. Be sure to stir occasionally to prevent sticking/burning.
16. Switch off stove and add back in sauteed Paneer, Cashews and Walnuts.
17. Add Tomatoes and lightly beaten Yogurt and mix gently.
18. Coat bottom and sides of a baking dish with spray cooking oil.
19. Layer bottom of baking dish with 1/3 of cooked rice.
20. Sprinkle 1 tsp of Biryani Masala on the rice.
21. Layer 1/2 of the vegetable mixture over the rice and sprinkle Fried Onions on top.
22. Layer another 1/3 cooked rice over the veggies and sprinkle 1 tsp Biryani Masala.
23. Layer remaining vegetable mixture and sprinkle Fried Onions on top.
24. Layer remaining 1/3 cooked rice and sprinkle 1 tsp Biryani Masala.
25. Drizzle Saffron water over the rice, more Fried Onions and garnish with cilantro.
26. Cover and cook for 45 minutes in a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven.
27. Serve with Raita.
28. Serves 8.

I served this with pineapple raita.
Enjoy !!!