Vegetable Biryani

Biryani is originated in Persia and might have taken couple of different routes to become part of Indian Cuisine. Biryani is derived from the Farsi word 'Birian' which means "fried" or "roasted". There are many different kinds of biryanis and each one has its own uniqueness. The moment someone says B-I-R-Y-A-N-I we normally remember the famous Hyderabadi Biryani. Although the recipe below is not for Hyderabadi Biryani, it is equivalently delicious & healthy with lots of vegetables boiled or sautéed instead of fried.

No. of Servings : 4 persons

Preparation Time : 45 mins



Ingredients :

• 2 cups Basmati Rice
• ¼ cup French Beans (partially boiled)
• ¼ cup Carrots (chop as the size of matchstick)
• ¼ cup Peas (partially boiled)
• ¼ cup Cauliflower (partially boiled)
• 1 Potato (chopped like fries)
• 2 Onion ( chop thin & long)
• 2 Green Bell pepper(long & thin)
• 2 Diced large Tomatoes
• 1 cup Tomato Puree
• 2 tbsp Ginger – Garlic paste
• ½ cup Curd (preferably fat free)
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 2 tsp Red chilly powder
• 1 inch Long Cinnamon stick
• 3 Cloves
• 2 Cardamom
• 2 Bay leaves
• 3 tbsp Biryani Masala (Available in stores)
• 4 tbsp Ghee
• 3 tbsp Dry Fruits (sauted in ghee - cashew nuts & raisins)
• Few strands of saffron

Method :

• Soak rice for 15 mins, then add salt & cook it with double the quantity of water. When done drain the excess water & keep rice aside to cool. (this method helps to remove excess starch from rice)
• Heat ghee in pan. Add bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and let it splutter. Then add ginger garlic paste ( if u like more of garlic then u can increase the qty of garlic paste).
• Saute carrots for 1 min followed by potatoes.
• Then add onions - bell pepper – tomatoes & lastly add all vegetables. Saute all vegetables for 2 mins. (take care that vegetables don’t get overcooked)
• Now add turmeric, red chilly powder, Biryani masala
• Add Tomato puree followed by curd & let the gravy boil for 2 mins
• Add saffron (mixed in very little quantity of milk) just before adding Rice in the gravy & stir softly with 2 spoons so that rice does not break
• Finally garnish with dry fruits

Serve hot with Raita & Papad.