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Veg
Biryani
(This dish has been extracted from the book “The pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking” written by Tarla Dalal)
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 12
|
3 teacups uncooked rice 2 teacups mixed boiled vegetables (French beans, carrots, green peas, potatoes) 5 onions 1 teacup thick curds |
¾ teaspoon saffron 2 teaspoons milk 1 teaspoon sugar 6 tablespoon ghee ghee for deep frying Salt to taste |
|
To
be ground into a paste 2 large
onions 6
cloves garlic 2
teaspoons khus-khus (poppy seeds) 2
teaspoons aniseeds (saunf) 25 mm
(1 inch) piece ginger 4 red chillies |
7 curry
leaves 7
cloves 2 sticks
cinnamon (dalchini) 5
peppercorns (kali mirch) 2
tablespoons grated fresh coconut 3
teaspoons coriander seeds (dhania) 1-1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds (jira) |
Cooking
· Boil the rice. Each grain of the cooked rice should be separate
· Slice the onions thinly. Deep fry in ghee to a golden brown color
· Add salt to the rice and vegetables
· Warm the saffron in a small vessel, add 2 teaspoons of milk and stir until the saffron dissolves. Add this to cooked rice an mix well
· Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a vessel and fry the paste for at least 3 or 4 minutes
· Cool, add the curds, sugar and salt
· Put 4 tablespoons of ghee in a vessel and sprinkle a few fried onions at the bottom
· Spread half the rice over the onions
· Spread the paste over the rice
· Sprinkle the vegetables over the paste
· Cover the vegetables with the remaining fried onions and rice. Put a lid on the top
· Bake in a hot oven at 400 degree F for 25 minutes
· Turn upside down on a big serving plate just before serving
Biryani spreads a nice aroma in the house when being cooked and when ready. We have tried several variations, sometimes by purpose and other times when specific items were not at home. E.g. you can replace boiled vegetables with ready to use frozen vegetables available in stores. It also saves preparation time. We have not put khus-khus and grated coconut on most occasions and it has come out quite nice even without it. We have always used glass baking dish with tin-foil folded on the edges to seal the aroma. Without opening you can check when it is cooked. We usually don’t turn it upside down on serving plate. Take a helping (pick a vertical pie to get a balanced mix of rice and spice) from the baking dish and close the foil again to retain the aroma.
-Aparna and Anupam