Vegetable biryani

Vegetable biryani

This is sort of easy, mild vegetable biryani. Biryani making does take a little bit more time than just cooking the rice but overall you save time because we don’t have to make curries for this. Raita and poppadum are of course needed. If you want to spice it up, serve really spicy lemon pickle with it!!

Start with cooking the rice. Handling the rice after cooling is the best way to eliminate mushy, broken rice. Boil lots of water- about 3 to 4 litre- with salt, spices and the rice. The water should be salty enough or your rice will be bland. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Check for doneness of rice. It should be just cooked through but not crunchy. Drain and let cool.

Peel and slice the onions thin and deep fry till golden and crispy. Keep aside. Peel shallots, garlic and ginger. Chop fine along with the green chillies. Food processor gets this done in a minute. Chop the coriander leaves and tomatoes separately and set aside. Cube the potatoes, carrots, beans and any other vegetable you are using. 

Sauté the finely chopped shallot-ginger-garlic-chilli till it start to darken and lightly brown. Add the spice powders and fry for 2-3 minutes in low heat. Add the tomatoes and sauté tills it merges well in the masala. Add ½ cup water, salt to taste and lemon juice. Add the vegetables and bring to boil. Simmer and cook till the vegetables are done. Add half the fried onions and chopped coriander to this mix.

Oil the dish in which you are going to layer and bake the biryani. Spread ¾  of the rice, spread the vegetable mix on top and cover with the remaining rice. Top with the fried onion and coriander. Cover well with foil. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 200°c. If you are running short of time, you can microwave the biryani instead of baking (about 10 minutes).