Vegetable Biryani

Veg Biryani is a rice dish flavoured with whole spices, spice powders along with your favorite vegetable combo. In south indian cusine, biryani is made with Seeraga samba rice and its flavour is great. Here, I have made this vegetable biryani with Seeraga samba rice in pressure cooker. Its a onepot meal and very easy to prepare when all the ingredients are handy . The recipe measurement given here serves 2 members.

Ingredients:

Seeraga Samba Rice – 200 gms

Onion – 1

Tomato – 2 (medium sized)

Green chilli – 2 nos

Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp

Mint leaves – 2 tbsp chopped

Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp chopped

Curd – 1 tbsp

Mixed veggies (Chopped) – 1 cup ( Carrot, beans,potato,capsicum)

Coriander powder – 1tsp

Chilli powder – 1tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Garam masala – 1/2 tsp

Ghee – 2 tbsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

Cashews – 4 to 5 nos

Water – 2 cups

Salt – to taste

Spices:

whole black Pepper – 4 cons

Cloves – 2 nos

Cinnamon – 2 inch piece

Green cardamom – 2 nos

Star anise – 2 nos

Bay leaf – 2

Method :

1. Rinse and Soak the Seeraga Samba rice for half an hour . Strain it in a strainer and keep aside.
2. In a pressure cooker, Heat both oil and ghee.
3. Initially add the pepper cons and cashews and let the cashews turn golden brown.
4. Then add all the ingredients under the spices. Let the flavour of the spices arise.
5. Now add the green chilli and fry for a minute in the ghee+oil mixture.
6. Add the sliced onions at this stage and fry till golden brown. It takes a while.
7. Ginger garlic paste is added when onion turns golden brown and fry till the raw smell of ginger and garlic goes away.
8. Put the mint leaves and coriander leaves at this stage and fry for a minute.
9. Then add the tomatoes and cook till it turns mushy. You can add little salt at this stage which helps to cook tomatoes faster.
10. After the tomatoes turn mushy, you can see the oil releasing from the mixture.
11. Add the chopped Veggies now.
12. Now add all the flavourful spice powders: Coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder and garam masala. Add 1 tbsp curd also at this stage.
13. Cook the masala well till u see the ghee+oil releasing from the mixture. Check for salt and spiciness at this stage and adjust as needed.
14. Now add the soaked rice in the cooker and mix well.
15. In another vessel, heat the 2 cups of water. Switch off the flame when it starts to boil.
16. Pour the hot water in the rice mixture in the cooker. Mix well and allow it to boil till the water and rice incorporates with each other ( that is , the rice will absorb little water and the mixture comes to a thick consistency)
17. Now add little extra ghee at the top and close the lid of the cooker.
18. Cook in a simmer flame for about 10 mins.
19. Now vegetable biryani is ready to be served with raita of ur choice.

Refer below links for other biryani recipes:

Mutton Biryani

Mushroom Biryani

Note:

• Adding pepper cons is optional. I add this as it helps in digestion.
• After the pressure releases from the cooker, open the lid and do not mix with laddle immediately. Let it be open for few seconds and then you can transfer it to other container.
• If using basmati rice, the water quantity differs                                                                           For 1 cup rice : 1 3/4 cups of water is the ratio I prefer ( because it gives soft unbroken grains).
• For Seeraga samba rice,                                                                                                                          1 cup rice = 2 cups water   i.e; 1:2 ratio