BON APPETIT: Vegetable Biryani - The Royal Sunday Lunch

Who doesn't love a sunday - I definitely do ; A sunday well spent brings a week of content - so I read sometime back. Happy Hoots to that thought ! And well spent for me is well slept, well enjoyed and well fed (not necessarily in that order) . While well slept and well enjoyed is not always fully possible as the two brats keep me on toes making sure I am constantly out of breath, well-fed is something my hubby and me look forward to. And if the let's eat out bug does not bite me on a particular sunday, then the hearth buzzes with aromas divine. One such sunday saw this tongue tickling vegetable biryani that made the day extra special.

Biryani,Biriani or Beryani derives it name from a Persian word Beryan which means fried or roasted. Biryani is a tasty melange of spices,herbs,rice and veggies or meat. The multi-layered mix of rice and veggies/meat gives the dish its punch. Biryani sees a lot of variation globally but the underlying essence behind them is the bang on flavor.

The dum method of cooking the biryani (locking the flavours while cooking ) gives the best taste as the flavours gets infused thoroughly . For the dum process you can seal the lid using an aluminium foil or a dough of wheat flour.I simply close the lid and place a heavy weight on top of it so that the flavours don't escape.Rice and veggies gets cooked about 3/4 th of its original time, and then after layering them with other ingredients they simmer on a low flame for the dish to get its oomph.

The other day as I was browsing, a recipe for the biryani by Geeta caught my eye. It had veggies marinated in a spice mix. This definitely added the extra pep to the recipe.

What's in it :-

Preparation Time: 45 minutes; Cooking time (Al Dente) : 15 minutes ;Cooking Time (Dum) :20 minutes; Serves : 4 to 6

For Cooking the rice :-

Long Rice (Basmati) - 2 cup
Water - as required (for cooking the rice)/ I used 3 cups of water
Cloves - 2
Cardamom Pod - 1
Oil - 1 tbsp

For the layers :-

Fried Onion - 1/2 cup
Curd- 1/2 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Saffron Strands - a few
Orange Colour - a pinch
Coriander & Mint Leaves - a small bunch - chopped finely

The vegetables and the marinade mix as well as the spices for cooking it:-

Carrot - 2
Beans - 10 to 12
Cauliflower - a small head
Potato - 1 medim
Green Peas - a fistful
Tomato - 1

Ginger Paste - 1 tbsp
Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Green Chillis - 2 - finely chopped
coriander powder - 1 tbsp
garam masala - 1 tbsp
Dried fenugreek leaves - 1 /2 tsp
sugar - 1 tbsp
mint leaves - a few - finely chopped
coriander leaves - a few - finely chopped
salt - to taste
oil - 1 tbsp

Ghee - 2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Cloves - 4
Cardamom Pods - 2
Aniseed -1
Bay Leaves - 1or 2
Biryani Masala - 2 to 3 tbsp - to taste
Cinnamon - a small piece
Curd - 1/2 cup

Here's How :-

Wash vegetables well and cut in to long strips/big florets. Tip the vegetables in to a bowl and add all the spice mix mentioned in blue for the marinade. Mix them well and keep it closed for at-least 30 minutes.

Soak saffron strands and /or orange colour in milk.

Wash rice well. Soak it for about 30 minutes. Add, cloves and cardamom, oil. Pressure cook it for one whistle. The rice was done about 3/4 th.

In a pan, tip in oil and ghee. After it warms up add cloves, cardamom, aniseeds, bay leaves, cinnamon. Add marinated veggies, and biryani masala. Mix well, add curd and swirl. Let it cook al-dente. The veggies should be cooked to retain their crunch. set aside.

For the Dum :-

In a thick bottomed vessel, spread 1/2 of the rice first, spread little fried onions, add little curd and some chopped herbs. Add 1/2 of the vegetable fried masala. Repeat the process by adding rest of the rice and spread the remaining onions, curd and the herbs. Top it with the rest of the rice. Now add milk infused with saffron/colour. Add fried cashewnuts. close the lid and cook on a low flame for 15-20 minutes.

Finger-licking Dum Vegetable Biryani is ready to be devoured !