CHILI NUTRELLA BIRYANI ( INDO CHINESE FUSION)

Hello everyone 

Biryani is a tempting treat for all who love rice dishes. Even I am too fond of biryani , especially veg version. This time thought to try something different , so added a little twist to my biryani and surprisingly it turned out super delicious, beyond expectations. It's a simple yet flavourful combination of rice, veggies , nutrella and spices with some Chinese twist. You can also call it indo Chinese biryani. Though my way of cooking don't call for too much oil or butter hence this one is also one of the low calorie biryani compared to regular ones. This is also simple to cook and don't need any special utensil or technique, even then you can get quiet authentic taste. Step wise recipe is given below hope you all will definitely give it a try.

CHILI NUTRELLA BIRYANI 

Serves: 4-5

Time: 1 hr

Ingredients 

2 cup nutrella, soaked and squeezed 
3 onions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
4-5 green chilies , slited
1 cup colored capsicum, thinely sliced
4-5 spring onion , sliced in 2 inch pieces
2 onion , roughly sliced

2 medium tomatoes, sliced

1 tbsp biryani masala

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp black pepper powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp chili garlic sauce
Salt to taste

For veggie tempering:

1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp pepper corns
4 green cardamom
4 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves

For marination of nutrella:

1 1/2 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/4 tsp salt

For rice:

2 1/2 cup basmati or biryani rice, soaked for at least 30 mins

2 tsp ghee

water

1/3 tsp salt

For rice tempering:

1 star anise

4 green cardamom 

4 cloves

2 inches piece cinnamon 

1 tbsp cashews ( optional)

For layering:

1/4 cup milk

 Handful mint leaves

1 tsp Kewda or rose water

Handful of cashews, fried till golden ( I skipped)

Few strands of saffron or red and yellow edible colors 

1 big onion, thinly sliced and deep fried till golden brown ( I skipped this time)

2-3 tomatoes ,thin round sliced

Method:

First of all marinate nutrella with marination ingredients and keep aside for 10-15 mins.

Then heat little oil in a non stick wok and fry nutrella till now nice golden and keep aside for later use.

Now heat some oil in same wok and add all veggie tempering spices and saute till aromatic, then add thinly sliced onions and green chilies. Saute till nice golden, add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 mins. Now add all dry spice powders and saute for a minute. 

Add all chopped veggies and saute for 3-4 mins. Now add sliced tomatoes followed by fried nutrella. Now add chili garlic sauce and 1/4 cup water. 

Adjust salt and cover to cook. When nutrella absorb all the water and the veggies starts leaving oil then your nutrella veggie is ready for layering.

In the mean while start preparing rice too. Heat ghee in a wide wok and add rice tempering spices,saute for 2 mins and add drained rice again saute for 2 mins ,add salt and water . Let it cook till 80% done but not completely soft. Drain rice in a sieve or colander , may be some liquid will drain. You can use this in your veggies or for kneading dough.

* Don't overcook otherwise you will end up with veggie khichadi. Use water as per requirement, as different rice needs different quantity of water. 

Now for layering, divide veggies and rice in two to three equal parts. First of all arrange tomato slices at the bottom to avoid burning of veggies.Spread one layer of veggies then spread some of mint leaves all over it then sprinkle, red color or saffron strands soaked in milk. Now spread next part of rice on it evenly so that it cover whole veggies.Sprinkle 2 tbsp of milk on it, then sprinkle 1/2 tsp of Kewda or rose water ,spread half of fried or grilled brown onions , cashews and some of mint leaves on it. Similarly make another layer of veggies on it and rice layer. You can make 2-3 layers of each veggies and rice, as per your convenience and quantity.

Finally cover it well with an aluminum foil so that it can be put on dum. You can also seal it with dough.

Now keep a tawa on low flame and put this biryani pot on it and dum it for 20-25 mins. Switch of the flame and let it rest for at least 10-15 mins so that all the flavours and aroma of spices and essences get infused in whole dish. Then open the lid and flip biryani with fork or skewer to get nice fluffy rice.

Your aromatic,easy, yummy and flavour full biryani is ready to be served with tomato onion raita.

* Always try to cook rice and veggies simultaneously so that you will get nice fluffy biryani. Never cook rice too early otherwise it may stick. If it's not possible to cook both at a time then first cook veggies then go to rice.

* Never mix biryani with spatula, always use a fork or best to flip it by tossing.

If you ran out of fresh mint leaves then can use crushed dry mint also.

It's a one pot meal that none of the biryani lover can refuse. Its aroma is sufficient to bring you to the dinning room. This can be a hit dish for any get together or family party. You need not to serve too many dishes with it only simple raita is enough to accompany it.

Hope you will definitely give it a try, it might be looking a long recipe but believe me it will not take your much effort and time . At last you will never regret for trying it, it's a must try recipe for all biryani lovers.

Please stop by and pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....