Vegetable Biryani

This dish is dedicated to all my vegetarian friends. This dish is surely a strong contender for its meaty counterpart and is an absolute winner on flavours.

Ingredients:

Rice -

Basmati rice - 4 cups

Cloves - 3

Cinnamon - 2"

Cardamon - 4

Shahi jeera - 1 tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Saffron - two pinch soaked in 100ml warm water

Cashew nuts - ¼ cup, chopped

Almonds - ¼ cup, chopped

Salt to taste

Masala -

Oil - 4 tbsp

Cloves - 4

Green cardamon - 4

Black cardamon - 1

Mace - 1

Cinnamon - 2"

Shahi jeera - 1 tsp

Ginger garlic paste - 1 ½ tsp

Biryani masala - 25 gm

Fried onion - 2 large finely sliced

Green chilly - 6 diagonally sliced ½" chunks

Coriander leaves - 1 cup, chopped

Mint leaves - 1 cup, chopped

Curd - 2 cups, whisked to creamy texture

Cauliflower - 1 ½ cup, large flower

Paneer - 200 gms, cut into 1" cubes

Carrot - 225 gms, cut into ½" thick and 2 ½" long strips

Soya chunks - 1 ½ cup, soaked in warm water, cut into half (squeeze the water off)

Potatoes - 2 large, ½" thick and 2 ½" long strips

Salt to taste

Atta Seal-
Atta dough to seal the biryani vessel

Method:

In a large flat surfaced vessel, heat some oil. Saute the dry masala (cloves, green and black cardamon, mace, cinnamon). Once the flavour have been infused into the oil, add shahi jeera, ginger garlic paste. Saute till the garlic gives off its aroma. Now add all the vegetables except the soya chunks and paneer. Let this cook till the vegetables are 70% cooked. Add some salt. Now add half of the coriander and mint and green chillies, biryani masala. Cook  for a minute. Add ½ of the curd followed by panner and soya chunks. Mix thoroughly and cook cook for a minute or two. Keep this aside.

In a large vessel, boil abundant water, add salt, add the dry masala (cloves cardamon, shahi jeera). Add rice and cook till the rice is 70-80% cooked. Drain the excess water.

Heat another thick bottom vessel, put half of the vegetable masala. Add curd and the nuts (cashew nuts, almonds), adjust the salt. Now sprinkle ¾ of the fried onion on top of the masala. Evenly spread ½ of the rice on top of this. On top of this, spread the rest of the masala and the fried onion. Cover this with rest of the rice, sprinkle coriander & mint leaves and the saffron water.

Seal rim of the vessel with atta dough and cover the lid. Cook on high flame for 5 minutes, then 15 minutes on low flame.

Serve the briyani with onion raita.