Nurtured / Vegan Home Style Biryani
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 cups
 
Ingredients
  • For the rice:
  • • Basmati rice – 3 cups
  • • Oil – 1 tsp
  • • Water – 8 cups
  • • Salt – 1 tbsp
  • • Cumin Seeds/ Jeera – 2 tsp
  • • Cardamom
  • For the vegetables:
  • • Oil – 2 tbsp
  • • Bay leaf – ½
  • • Cinnamon – 1 thin piece
  • • Cloves – 3
  • • Cardamom pods – 2
  • • Onions – 1, big, sliced thinly
  • • Mint – 1 cup, chopped finely
  • • Coriander leaves – 1 cup, chopped finely
  • • Garlic – 6, very finely chopped
  • • Ginger – 2 inch, finely chopped
  • • Green chilli – 8, slit
  • • Tomato – ½, sliced
  • • Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
  • • Biryani masala – 1 tsp
  • • Red Chilli powder –1 tbsp
  • • Fresh beans – ½ cup, Chopped 1 inch thin
  • • Carrot – 1 cup, chopped 1 inch thin
  • • Broccoli – 8 florets
  • • Potato – 2, chopped as cubes
  • To garnish:
  • • Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp, chopped
  • • Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Instructions
  1. Wash the rice and soak in water for ten minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, take a big wide pan, add oil in medium heat, and add the spices like Bay leaf, Cinnamon, Cloves, Cardamom pods, and sauté for a minute. Add the cumin seeds, then the onions, mint, coriander leaves, ginger, garlic, green chilles and fry for two minutes with a bit of salt.
  3. When onions are sautéing in the pan, Take another pan with water, salt and boil it. When it is boiling (which takes around 2 minutes, add the rice, cardamom, cumin seeds). Let it boil for 6-7 minutes exact or when the rice is 80% done.
  4. Meanwhile on the biryani pan, when onions are well sautéed, add tomatoes and turmeric powder. Sauté for a minute.
  5. Then to it, add the vegetable, red chilli powder, biryani powder, salt and sauté them well for 4-5 minutes.
  6. The vegetables would have been slightly cooked by now.
  7. Now, the layering starts. To the vegetables, pat and level it. Drain the rice and add the drained hot rice on the top of it.
  8. Stove top: I cook in stovetop, cover the pan with aluminium foil, add a weight to it (like mortar and pestle) and cook in 6 minutes in medium flame. Then turn into medium low heat for 35 minutes. Switch off and add coriander leaves to garnish with some lemon juice when it is served.
  9. (Or)
  10. Oven method: Cover the dish and bake in a 350f oven for 15 minutes or till the cooked but not mushy. Or cook in the stove medium heat for 12 minutes and lowest heat for 5 minutes. And switch off. Mix and serve hot!
Notes
1. If you are cooking in oven, do make sure to cook in a big oven safe pan and cover it tight and then keep in oven for the final step.
2. You can skip biryani masala if you don’t have and add just garam masala (1 tsp and red chilli powder – 3 tsp instead of 1 tsp)
3. If it is spicy in the end, squeeze some lemon, it will reduce the heat and enhance the flavors also.
Recipe by Relish The Bite at https://www.relishthebite.com/nurtured-vegan-home-style-biryani/