VEG DUM BIRYANI

Hello everyone 

Veg dum biryani is a tempting treat for vegetarians who love biryani. Even my family prefer this over non vegetarian options. It's a simple yet flavourful combination of rice, veggies and spices.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.

VEG DUM BIRYANI 

Serves: 4-5

Time: 1 hr

Ingredients 

For veggies:

3-4 cup chopped veggies ( carrots, beans, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, corn etc , as per availability)

1 cup soya chunks, soaked and squeezed 

1 1/2 cup paneer cubes( cottage cheese)

3 medium onions, thinly sliced 

3 green chillies, broken in halves 

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste or minced ginger garlic 

1 tsp garam masala

2 tsp curry powder 

1 tsp biryani powder masala or chicken masala

1 tsp chicken masala

1/3 tsp turmeric powder 

1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder 

2 big tomatoes, finely chopped 

Salt to taste

For veggies Tempering:

3/4 tsp cumin seeds 

3/4 tsp fennel seeds 

4 green cardamom 

4 cloves 

8-10 black peppers

2 inches piece cinnamon 

1 piece mace ( optional)

For rice:

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

2 tsp ghee

3 1/2 cup water

1 tsp lemon juice

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

1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped roughly 

1 tsp Kewda or rose water

Handful of cashews, fried till golden

Few strands of saffron or red , green and yellow edible colors 

1 big onion, thinly sliced and deep fried till golden brown 

2-3 tomatoes ,thin round sliced

Method:

Now heat 2 tbsp oil in a thick bottom wok and deep fry onions given under layering section, till golden brown and drain it on a kitchen towel or paper to get rid of excess oil. I grilled these onions in microwave till golden brown to avoid this excess calorie in my dish. You can use any way you prefer.

Now add some more oil in the wok and heat it. Add all the veggies tempering spices and saute till aromatic, nearly 2 mins, avoid burning. Now add sliced onions and green chillies, fry till golden then add ginger garlic mince or paste. Saute till raw smell of it goes off.

 Now add all powder spices and saute for 4-5 mins till spices get fried well. Now add all veggies and fry for 5 mins,stirring constantly. Now lower the flame , add some salt and cover it with lid. Cook for 10 mins or till veggies get cooked and tender, stirring occasionally.

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 , lemon juice and water . Let it cook till 90% done but not completely soft. Sift rice in a sieve , may be some liquid will drain. You can use this in your veggies. 

Don't overcook otherwise you will end up with veggie khichadi. Use water as per requirement, as different rice needs different quantity of water. If you like to boil rice in enough water and drain, then you can do as per your comfort. But I don't drain as I think all the flavour of spices will goes off with it, so I use only required amount of water.

When veggie is tender, add chopped tomatoes and fry on high flame till they get mushy and cooked now add squeezed soya chunks and 1/4 cup water, cook covered so that soya chunks absorb all the flavours.

 Cook it on high flame to get nice semi dry veggie . Now add paneer cubes and cook for another 5 mins.Adjust salt and it's done.

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, few drops of green colour ,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. 

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.

You can use any veggies as per your choice or even boiled chickpeas, mushrooms etc can also be added.

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....