Veg Biryani | Vegetable Biryani

Veg Biryani (बिरयानी) is the most popular, authentic and aromatic rice dish. This is an amazing blending of vegetables, spices and flavourful basmati rice. Vegetable Biryani is popular throughout India and one of the most loved street food dish.  You can make this delicious restaurant style vegetable biryani at home easily.

There are a lot of verities of biryani. Basically it is from Hyderabad. Hyderabad biryani is prepared by dum pukht method. Dum pukht literally means choking off the steam. The clay pots with biryani assembled are sealed tight with wheat flour dough which does not allow the steam to pass. The biryani recipes are prepared by layering the rice and biryani gravy.

Here I am sharing an easy and quick veg biryani recipe. This can be made in a pot or pressure cooker. Usually dum biryani takes more time and have multiple steps so I prefer this easy and simple method. Whenever you get a strong craving for biryani rice, you can cook this. It is packed with so many flavors and will entice your taste buds in every bite.

As its name suggest, it is prepared with lots of vegetables and obviously with rice. Basmati rice is the best choice to make Biryani, it stands out individually, without forming lumps while cooking. Caramelized onions also make a great addition.  The subtle flavors of the garam masala, onions and curd are so infused in the vegetables. It is ideal for lunch box. It can be made for delightful afternoon meal or dinner. It can be served without any side dish or with raita and pickle.

Course: Main course
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 3

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati Rice
1 Black Cardamom
2 Cloves
1 inch Cinnamon stick
1 Bay Leaf
4-5 Black Peppercorns
½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
½ teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
¼ teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
½ teaspoon Biryani Masala
Salt to taste
1 small Potato
1 medium Tomato
5 Beans
6-7 florets of Cauliflower
½ Carrot
¼ cup Green Peas (fresh or frozen)
1 Onion, sliced for frying
1 Onion, chopped for gravy
½ cup Curd (beaten)
3 tablespoons Ghee

Instructions:

Wash and soak the rice in water for 30 minutes. Wash, peel and chop finely all vegetables.
Take a pan and heat water on high flame. Drain the rice and add in the pan along with 4 cups of water, bay leaf and salt. Let it cook uncovered until it’s almost cooked around 80% but not fully cooked.

Remove pan from heat and drain rice in a colander.
Heat ghee in a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add 1 sliced onion to it and cook until they turn golden brown and caramelize. Remove on plate and set aside.

To the same pan add cumin seeds, Cardamom, Cloves, Cinnamon stick and Black Peppercorns.
Add chopped onion, Cook until onions turn light brown and the raw smell goes away.

Add tomatoes and all chopped vegetables. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and biryani masala. Add salt and mix properly.

Add 1/2 cup water and cover with lid and cook on low heat until they cooked properly.

Once all vegetables cooked, add beaten curd and mix properly. Now add half of the rice and mix lightly with gravy.

Now spread remaining rice over it.
Top with caramelized onion. Cover the pan.

You can seal and secure the pot with aluminium foil or cover the pan with tight fitting lid and put heavy weight on it.

Keep the flame to the lowest and cook veg biryani for 15 minutes.
Serve veg biryani hot.

Tips:

• You can add vegetables of your choice to make it more nutritious. You can also add corn, mushroom, broccoli or capsicum etc.
• Use only good quality long grain basmati rice.
• Use only desi ghee instead of oil as it gives aromatic flavor.
• Do not stir the rice too much while cooking. It will break the grains.
• You can enhance this by adding some fried paneer cubes and nuts like almond, cashew or raisins.