Sunday, August 19, 2012

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 !



E.N.J.O.Y

23 comments:

  1. Delicious and colorful looking vegetable biriyani.
    Deepa

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  2. Love this flavorful biryanii. Looks yum...

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  3. i just woke up and now i read this biriyani and i m hungry

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  4. Taste yummy with some raitha.... Will gobble it...
    http://recipe-excavator.blogspot.com

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  5. wow a wonderful combination of different flavours

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  6. A perfectly satisfying sunday lunch - with a royal burp included :)

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  7. Oh!!!! Yummy... :) :) :) Indeed Royal... Perfect Sunday...

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  8. Yummy masala..Perfect for sunday lunch..

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  9. Delicious biriyani...happy to follow u..
    do visit and follow my space in your free time..
    Shabbu's Tasty Kitchen

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  10. Give me that bowl, drooling here..

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  11. Looks irresistible ...........

    http://nayanas-kitchen-kreations.blogspot.in

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  12. wow what a healthy biryani dear.... its tempting me too much....

    Event: Dish Name Starts With N till August 31st
    Learning-to-cook

    Regards,
    Akila

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  13. the dum cooking add that extra kick to the biryani which is not possible if the biryani is made in a pressure cooker. after seeing your post, i feel like having biryani.

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  14. Real tasty...
    http://recipe-excavator.blogspot.com

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  15. Truly a royal sunday! love the biryani

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  16. hi priya...nice blog u got here! happy to follow u.....

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  17. Marinating the vegetables for the biryani is something new! Hubby cooks non-veg dishes using the dum... it's one of his favorite style of cooking.
    Biryani looks mouth-watering and sure it will give that well fed and well enjoyed feeling! :)

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