VEG BIRYANI – A BOWL FULL OF GOODNESS

Some of my readers have enquired me about the secrets of weight loss. Definitely, I will share the tips in my forthcoming posts...

Coming to the recipe I am posting today, Veg Biryani, everybody has their own way in preparing this but my mind flashes back to the good old days about learning this recipe…

During my childhood days, biryani’s and pulao’s are not much familiar among vegetarian’s and it is considered to be a nonvegeratian dish..When my mom first heard about this from our neighbor aunty, she was very much excited and wanted to experiment this at home. However, Dad was against to all this masala spices and he strongly rejected it. Hence, mom tried to experiment this with us..When she first prepared, she took a long time in preparing this, even now she says that, but the final outcome was liked by us. She was very happy as she is feeding us with a bowl full of goodness (with veggies, ghee)…Dad was rigid and never attempted to taste that and mom prepared for him some other traditional dish. That was the first time I had my first Veg Biryani (I suppose it was during my 10th or so)..Even now, dad never attempts to try this..

After that, she prepares this specially for us whenever dad is out of station or not at home..When I started experimenting my cooking skills, I slowly collected the recipe of the Veg Biryani from my mom’s friends..Everyone had their own way..I combined whatever I liked and started preparing my own way..It was very much liked by my mom and my brother. I prepare this whenever my cousins or guests come home for vacation…Mom will do the cutting part and will leave the kitchen to me.. There my confidence level and cooking skill started increasing. ..
Here’s the way how I prepare this..

INGREDIENTS:

Basmatic Rice – 2 cups

Mix of vegetables – 2 cups (carrot, beans, potatoes, green peas, corn)

Onion – 1

Mint leaves - few

Red chili powder --- 1 tea sp

Cloves - 2-3

Bay leaf – 1

Cinnamom – 1 inch stick

Ghee --- 4 to 5 tbp

Coriander leaves – few

Coconut milk (optional) – As required

Salt to taste

Oil – As required.


DRY ROAST AND GRIND (1)

Cloves – 3

Cinnamom – 1 inch stick

Saunf/fennel seeds – 2 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Peppercorns – 10

Star anise – 1


TO GRIND (2)

Tomatoes – 2 medium or big size

Ginger – 1/2 inch piece

Garlic flakes – 4 to 5

Green chilies –5 to 6

Mint leaves – handful

METHOD:

· Wash and drain the basmati rice and keep aside for 15 minutes.

· Dry roast the ingredients given in grind (1) section and keep aside. This will be a dry masala powder. I strongly feel that this powder only makes my briyani very aromatic and flavorful.

· Grind all the items given in grind (2) list to a smooth paste adding little water.· Heat pan with some oil, add cinnamom stick and bayleaf, allow them to sizzle, add mint leaves, then the ground masala powder. Then add the ground masala paste and fry till the raw smell goes.

· Then add the onions and mix well. When the onions turn light brown, add the veggies and salt. Mix well and keep in low flame for about 5 minutes. · When the veggies are half cooked, add the basmati rice and double the amount of coconut milk/water or a combination of both coconut milk and water, and chilly powder at last. Mix well. Pressure cook for two whistles.

· Once the pressure is released, add ghee and coriander leaves and mix gently.

· Now the aromatic biryani is ready to serve and can be served with any raita or chips.

I am dedicating this recipe to my beloved brother. He is in US now and it has been a long time I made this for him..Through blog, I would like to share this recipe with him.