hyderabadi vegetable biryani recipe, veg biryani

Prep time
15 mins

Cook time
30 mins

Total time
45 mins

Vegetable biryani cooked in a hyderabadi dum style

Author: Swasthi
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Yield: 3

Ingredients (240 ml cup used)

1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste

1 tsp of biryani masala powder (you can use a store bought one too, but
adjust the quantity as mentioned on the pack)
tsp red chili powder
tsp turmeric
250 ml yogurt (not very thick and not very thin)
4 tbsps. ghee or oil
Few saffron strands
30 ml hot milk to soak the saffron strands
Nuts
Raisins as needed
Cashews as needed
Fried onions
1 onion thinly sliced or store bought fried onions
Veggies
8 medium sized cauliflower florets
1 large boiled potato cubed (peel the skin and boil till done)
1 large carrot chopped
Fistful of green peas

1 tbsps. Mint leaves / pudina minced

2 tbsps. Coriander leaves chopped very finely
2 green chilies slit
dry spices
2 inch cinnamon stick
4 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
2 big strands of mace
1 star anise
6 cloves
1 bay leaf
tsp shahi jeera
cooking rice
1 cups aged basmathi rice
tsp shahi jeera
Salt to taste

Instructions
1.
2.

Soak saffron strands in hot milk

Thinly slice onions and fry them in oil till golden and crisp. Set these aside. If
you are using store bought fried onions, you can skip this
3.
In the same pan, add spices and saute till they begin to sizzle
4.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off
5.
Add parboiled potatoes and fry for about 3 to 5 minutes, till they are almost
cooked
6.
Add the rest of the vegetables and fry for 2 to 3 minutes
7.
Add turmeric, biryani masala powder and red chili powder. Mix and fry well for
2 minutes till you begin to get an aroma
8.
Pour 100 ml yogurt and mix. Cook till the vegetables are done to tender. You
can cover and cook. Cook uncovered if there is lot of moisture after the veggies
are cooked.
9.
Add mint and coriander leaves. Set this aside
10. Cook rice till al dente in lot of water along with ingredients mentioned for
cooking. The rice has to be cooked grainy and not mushy. Drain it off in a
colander
11. Set aside of the cooked vegetable mix. Now mix together the rest of the
cooked veggies, rest of the yogurt and nuts and raisins, fried onions and add it
to a dum utensil, you can do it in a pressure cooker or any heavy bottom
utensil.
12. Layer the rice over the mix and layer the cooked vegetable mix that was
set aside. Sprinkle some fried onions
13. Layer rice over it again, then the fried onions, nuts, mint and coriander leaves
and pour off the saffron milk and place a moist clean cloth to seal the rim. You
can even use a foil or atta to seal the utensil.
14. Place the dum utensil on a hot tawa and cook for 5 minutes on a medium
flame and then on low for 5 to 7 minutes based on the thickness of your utensil.
For the oven method: preheat the oven to 180 C and bake for 20 mins. if
you feel it is still very moist beneath, bake for another 5 to 10 mins. This
depends on what kind of baking dish you use. Usually ceramic ones get
done faster.

Notes
I have used a small pressure cooker that has a heavy bottom. use the right size of
utensil, do not use a large pan to cook little biryani. The cooking time during dum
can vary slightly depending on the thickness of your utensil. so judge accordingly
and cook on dum. A perfect biryani must not burn at the beneath and not very moist
at the bottom