A delicious biryani cooked with Vegetables, Rice and with masalas and some spices together slow cooked under dum. This Vegetable Dum Biryani i have followed hyderabadi dum biryani procedure and slightly modified to make it more delicious with one more ingredient and adding this ingredient is optional. I have added tomatoes too in the gravy. You could replace it with half a cup more yogurt if you donot like tomatoes in biryani.

The outcome was so delicious. The vegetables are perfectly cooked with the spicy yogurt masala. The rice is perfectly flavoured with the garam masala spices and also with the richness of the ghee. Healthy dum biryani when compare to meat versions.

Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS:

For the Gravy:
Carrot-1 large (1 cup)
Beans-6-8 (1 cup)
Cauliflower- 1/2 small head (1 cup)
Potaotes-2 medium (1 cup)
Peas, fresh/ frozen- 1/2 cup
Oil- 1 cup
Onion, chopped lengthwise-3 large
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tablespoons
Tomatoes, chopped-2 medium (You could avoid if you do not like in biryani. Add 1/2 cup more yogurt if you are not using tomatoes)
Turmeric powder- 1/4 teaspoon
Chilli powder- 1 teaspoon
Garam masala powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Yogurt/curd- 1/2 cup
Kauri methi/ Dried fenugreek powder- 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
Coriander leaves, chopped- 2 tablespoons
Mint leaves, chopped- 1 tablespoons
Salt- to taste

To cook the Rice:
Basmathi rice, extra long grain- 4 cups
Cinnamon -3, Cloves- 4, Cardamom-5
Shahi jeera/ Jeera- 1 teaspoon
Green chillies, slit- 3
Salt- to taste

To layer the Biryani:
Garam masala powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Ghee- 2 tablespoons
Coriander leaves, chopped- 4 tablespoons
Mint leaves, chopped- 2 tablespoons
Milk- 1/2 cup
Saffron- big pinch (or) turmeric powder- 1/2 teaspoon

Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani


PROCEDURE:
  • To cook the rice, add the rice, enough water to cook the rice, salt, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, shahi jeera, green chillies and a teaspoon of oil in a wide pan.
  • Once the rice is half cooked drain the water and allow to cool in a flat wide plate.
  • Cut the veggies almost similar size so that all the vegetable get cooked evenly. Potatoes takes more time to cook so cut them little smaller or thinner than other veggies.
  • Soak the saffron strands in hot milk and allow to soak for 5 minutes. I have added some turmeric powder too for more colour.
  • In a heavy bottomed pan add the add the oil and fry the onions till golden and remove fry the pan and set aside.
  • In the remaining hot oil add the ginger garlic paste and cook for thirty seconds till the raw smell leaves. Then add the tomatoes and cook till mushy.(If the oil is less add some more oil this prevents the masala sticking to the pan when you keep the biryani under dum)
  • Now add all the masalas, turmeric powder, chilli powder and garam masala powder and cook for fifteen seconds till the oil separates on top.
  • Add the chopped vegetables with some salt and mix in that masala and cook for 5 minutes with quarter cup of water till the water totally evaporates and the veggies are half cooked.(Do not over cook the veggies)
  • Add the yogurt and add some salt for the gravy.
  • Sprinkle some chopped coriander and mint leaves on top of the gravy.
  • Add half of the deep fried onions over the gravy and reserve the remaining half to sprinkle while layering the rice.
  • Sprinkle some kasuri methi over the gravy. Adding this ingredient is optional.
  • Layer with half portion of the half cooked rice and top it with some of the fried onion, coriander and mint leaves, sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of garam masala powder and drizzle a tablespoon of ghee.
  • Again layer with the other portion of the rice and top it with some coriander and mint leaves, sprinkle some garam masala powder and drizzle a tablespoon of ghee.
  • Drizzle this saffron milk over the biryani .
  • Close with a lid tightly with aluminium foil and a lid or with a dough. Heat a tawa well and keep the biryani vessel on top of that and cook for 20-25 minutes under dum i.e. very slow flame. You could keep dum on direct flame if the flame is very low.
  • Open the lid and serve from one side. Dig from deep down the vegetables with the masala and the rice.