I make Vegetable Biriyani only once in a while. It’s mostly made when I have vegetarian guests. For me and my husband, it’s either Fish or Chicken Biriyani. Here is my recipe for making a Simple Vegetable Biriyani. You can use any of the following vegetables for Biriyani – Potatoes, Green Beans, Carrots, Cauliflowers, Green peas and even Beetroot. Avoid mushy vegetables like Brinjal, Okra (Ladies Finger), Cabbage and so on.
Ingredients
For the Rice
- Long grain Basmati rice – 2 cups
- Oil – 1 tsp
- Biriyani Masala Powder – 1/2 tsp
- Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
- Water – as required
- Salt – to taste
For the Vegetable Masala Gravy
- Chopped Vegetables – 2 to 3 cups ( I used 1 carrot, 1 potato, a few cauliflower florets and a few Beans)
- Cashew Halves – 1/4 cup
- Raisins – 1/4 cup
- Cinnamon – 1″ piece
- Cloves – 4
- Cardamom – 2
- Fennel Seeds – 1/2 tsp
- Bay leaves – 2
- Thinly sliced Onions – 2 medium sized
- Diced Tomatoes – 1 medium
- Slit Green Chillies – 4
- Chopped Cilantro – 1/4 cup
- Chopped Mint leaves – 1/4 cup
- Ginger Garlic Paste – 2 tbsp
- Kashmiri Chilly Powder – 1 tsp
- Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
- Biriyani Masala Powder – 2 tbsp (Any brand, I use Eastern Biriyani masala)
- Yogurt – 3/4 cup
- Lemon Juice – 2 tbsp
- Salt- to taste
- Ghee/Cooking oil – 3 tbsp
Method
- Soak Basmathi rice in water for around 30-45 minutes.
- Peel and chop all the vegetables to bite sized pieces. Don’t make the pieces too small.
- Boil the Basmati rice in atleast 5 cups of water with a little salt, 1/2 tsp biryani masala, a pinch of turmeric and 1 tsp oil, till each grain is separate and 3/4 cooked but not fully cooked. Add more water, if needed so that the rice doesn’t stick together. Drain excess water and keep the rice aside.
- Heat a big non stick pan or wok and add 3 tablespoons of oil or ghee.
- Fry cashews and raisins until the cashews are lightly brown and the raisins become plump. Drain and keep aside.
- To the same oil, add fennel seeds, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom and cloves. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Then add the sliced onions and saute till they begin to brown.
- Add the slit green chillies and chopped tomatoes along with salt and cook till the tomatoes are pulpy and mashed.
- Sprinkle the cilantro and mint leaves.
- Add the ginger garlic paste and stir fry for 2 minutes.
- Next, add the all the chopped vegetables and saute for a few minutes.
- Reduce heat and add 1 tbsp of biriyani masala powder, 1 tsp kashmiri chilly powder and 1/2 tsp turmeric and saute for a minute.
- Blend 1 cup of yogurt with little water(optional) and add it to the pan along with salt and mix well. Allow it to simmer for a while.
- Cover and cook the vegetables in the the masala gravy for around 10 minutes. Keep the vegetable masala gravy aside.
- Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 degree F. Apply some ghee or oil on a baking dish.
- Layer it with the vegetable gravy and semi cooked rice alternatively. Sprinkle lemon juice in between and add the fried raisins and cashews.
- Cover with an aluminuim foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- It’s best to keep the biriyani for at least 2-3 hours before serving so that all flavors are absorbed.
- Mix the biriyani gently and serve with any Raitha, Pickle and Pappad.
anju says
I made it today and it turned out too dry for me…! I think apart from that everything else was good..m parents had it 🙂
Vimal says
Please translate to malyalam