Vegetable Biryani is a delicious recipe prepared with rice and variety of vegetable with spices. It’s a time consuming recipe, however once cooked tastes awesome. This one pot rice dish which goes well with boondi raita, cucumber and onion raita. You can choose your own flavor of vegetables for this recipe.
- 2 cup Basmati rice soak for 30 minute
- 1-1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp Shah jeera
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 floret Star anise
- 2'' Cinnamon Stick
- 2 Green cardamom
- 5 Cloves
- 2 Black cardamom
- 2 Javitri (Mace)
- Salt to taste
- 8 cup Water
- 1 big size Onion Thinly chopped by length wise
- 2 tbsp Rice Flour
- 1 cup Oil for deep frying
- 1 cup French beans chopped
- 1 cup Carrot chopped
- 1 cup Cauliflower medium size floret
- 1 cup Potato chopped
- 1/2 cup Mutter (peas)
- 1/2 cup Green bell Pepper
- 1/2 cup Red bell pepper
- 1 cup Curd (yogurt)
- 1 Onion chopped
- 3 tbsp Ghee
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1/4 tsp Saffron soaked in hot milk
- Few drops of kewra essence
- Salt to taste
- 1-1/2 tbsp Biryani Masala
- 1 tsp Ginger and Garlic paste each
- 1 tsp Gram masala
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
- 2 Green chili optional
- 2 tbsp Methi leaves (fenugreek leaves) chopped
- 1/4 cup Fresh mint leaves or roasted mint leave chopped
- 1/4 cup Fresh coriander leaves chopped
- 4 tbsp Oil for cooking
- Some Cashew nuts
- Ingredients for the rice. Clean and soak basmati rice in water for 30 minutes.
- In a deep pan, add 8 cups of water and all spices listed in a rice section. You can adjust the salt to ensure the water is medium salty. Boil the water with all the ingredients at medium to high heat.
- Add rice in the boiling water, and cook rice at medium heat until it is 60% cooked. Drain all the water from the rice. Take out the whole pieces of spices ingredients from rice as some people may not like the direct taste of it.
- In a mixing bowl, add chopped onion and rice flour and mix it well. Heat oil in a pan, add 1 cup canola oil or vegetable oil. Once it's hot add onion and fry it till golden color at medium heat. Remove the fried onions and place it on a kitchen paper towel.
- Ingredients for Vegetable Biryani. In warm milk, add saffron and kewra essence and keep it aside.
- Cut all vegetables and keep it aside.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, when cumin seeds crackle, add bay leaves and green chili. Saute it for few seconds. Add chopped raw onion, ginger- garlic paste and little salt. Saute till onion gets slight golden color. Add potato and turmeric powder. Cook for 2-3 minutes with lid on.
- Add all vegetables and cook for 5 minutes with lid on at medium heat. Add methi (fenugreek leaves) and tomato, saute for 2 minutes. Add garam masala, Biryani masala, mint leave and coriander leave. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add curd and fried onion, cook for 2 minutes. Vegetable is ready for Biryani. In a deep heavy bottom pot, make two layers by placing half vegetable then half rice and sprinkle half of mint leaves, coriander leaves, fried onion, and 3 tbsp ghee. Pour some saffron milk on top and then create another layer same as above.
- Cover the pan and seal the lid with wheat flour dough. Take a wide pan and add water to it and keep it on flame at low to medium heat. Place the Biryani pot into the water, make sure water does not spill on stove. Cook the Biryani for 35 minutes at medium heat.
- Hot Vegetable Biryani is ready to be served.
- Serve hot Biryani with curd Raita.
You can either use the fresh methi leaves or roasted methi leave. Roasted methi leave can be stored for longer than fresh methi leaves.
To prepare roasted methi leave, clean fresh methi leave with running water, drain all excess water from the methi, add some salt and mix it well, keep it covered for 30 minutes. Squeeze the water from the methi leaves and grind it in a food processor and make a fine texture. Heat 2 tsp ghee in a pan, add grinded methi and saute it till aromatic at low to medium heat. Turn off the heat. Let it cool down. Store in a air tight container in refrigerator. The roasted methi could be used up to 2 weeks.