HYDERABADI DUM BIRYANI

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Directions

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  Pick and rinse 1.5 cups (300 grams) of basmati rice in running water till the water runs clear of starch. Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes.
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  After 30 minutes drain the rice and keep it aside.
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  When the rice is soaking prep the other ingredients. Rinse, peel and chop the veggies.
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  I have used 3 cups of mixed veggies including green peas. You can use your choice of mixed vegetables.
• Boil 1/2 cup Nutri nugget in 2 cups of water. Add 1/4 tsp of salt while boiling. Till it turns soft, drain and keeps aside.
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  Slice 1 large onion thinly (about 1 heaping cup thinly sliced onion).
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  Finely chop or crush 10 grams ginger (2 pieces of 2-inch ginger or 1.5 tbsp finely chopped ginger).
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  Finely chop or crush 5 grams garlic (10 to 12 medium garlic cloves or 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic).
• Slit 3 to 4 green chilies also.
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  Chop coriander leaves and mint leaves. You should get ⅓ cup each of chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves.
• TO MAKE BARISTA :
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  In a pan, heat 3 tbsp ghee. Now add the sliced onions. Stir and sauté them on a low to medium flame.
  
  
• Onions take a lot of time to cook, so add a pinch of salt to quicken the cooking process.
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  Sauté the onions till they become golden brown or caramelize. Your BARISTA is ready, keep aside.
• In the same pan Roast, Mix the dry fruit of your choice. I added almonds and cashews as my daughter doesn’t like raisins.
• TO MAKE RICE FOR BIRYANI:
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  Now we need to cook the rice. For cooking rice, you can use any method – microwave or cooking in a pot. For cooking rice in a pot, take a deep bottomed pan. Add 5 cups water and heat the water on a high flame.
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  When the water becomes hot, add all the spices and ½ tsp salt – 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf), 3 green cardamoms, 3 cloves, 1 black cardamom, 1-inch cinnamon and 2 single strands of mace.
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  Bring the water to a boil on a high flame. Then add the rice. Just gently stir with a spoon or fork, after you add the rice. Check the taste of water and it should taste slightly salty. If the water is not tasting slightly salty, then add some more salt.
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  Do not reduce the flame and continue to cook the rice. The rice has to be 75% or ¾ᵗʰ cooked. The rice should not be fully cooked but almost cooked.
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  Drain the rice in a colander. You can also rinse the rice gently with water so that the grains stop cooking.
• Meanwhile, Take 1/4 th cup of warm milk and add saffron in it to make a yellow milk.
  if you don’t have saffron then you can use yellow color for the effect.
• TO MAKE MIX VEG GRAVY FOR BIRYANI
• For Gravy, you need to add khada garam masala as we added in rice. I did not add khada masala in gravy as nobody in my family appreciates that so I added grounded garam masala instead, but if you want to follow the traditional way I had included that in the recipe. If you also wanted to omit then add powder garam at the end.
  In a handi or a pan, heat 3 tbsp ghee. Add the following spices – 1 tsp shah jeera, 1 tej patta, 3 green cardamoms, 3 cloves, 1 black cardamom, 1-inch cinnamon. Sauté the garam masala till they crackle.
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  Now add the chopped onions. Stir and sauté them on a low to medium flame. Onions take a lot of time to cook, so add a pinch of salt to quicken the cooking process.
  add the ginger-garlic paste and sliced green chillies. You can also finely chop the ginger garlic and add.
• Meanwhile, take 1 cup fresh curd/yoghurt (200 grams) in a bowl. Beat the curd with a spoon or whisk it till it becomes smooth. keep aside.
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  Sauté till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away. Add the turmeric and red chilli powder. Stir and mix well. Add 1 tbsp of tomato puree.
• Stir well, after adding all the dry masalas, add beaten yoghurt/ curd.
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  Season with salt. Stir again add steamed mixed vegetables and Nutri nuggets in it. Mix well.
• Add little water, cover and cook for 3-4 min. till all the masala blend properly with vegetables and Nutri soaked all the water and become juicy.
• vegetable is ready now. our next step is to make yellow rice.
• TO MAKE SAFFRON RICE :
• Take out 3/4 cup of cooked rice and mix yellow milk ( saffron milk) in it mix well and keep aside.
• LAYERING VEG BIRYANI
• I bake biryani in an oven or in the microwave if you want to cook on the stovetop then take a thick bottomed pan otherwise take an oven-safe glass bowl.
  Now in a thick bottomed pan, layer half of the rice first.
• Then layer half of the vegetable.
• Add one more layer of rice, Sprinkle half of the chopped coriander, mint leaves and saffron milk rice on top, sprinkle some nuts and golden brown onions (Barista).
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  Layer the remaining gravy. Layer the remainder of the rice. Sprinkle the remaining coriander, mint leaves, saffron milk on the top. Sprinkle 2 tsp of rosewater or kewra water. You can make 2 layers or 4 layers like I have done. But do remember that rice should be the last layer.
  Sprinkle half of the chopped coriander, mint leaves and saffron milk
• Seal and secure the bowl with flour dough and seal it properly with a lid.
  
  
• cook the biryani in preheated oven at 180 degrees C. for 20-25 min. you can cook Dum biryani in a microwave oven too just microwave it on high for 7-10 min.
  If you are using a stove then Seal and secure the pot/ handi with the same flour dough and then cover the handi /pot with a tight-fitting lid.
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  Take a  tava (griddle) and heat it on medium flame. You can begin to preheat the tava when you start assembling the veg biryani.
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  When the tawa becomes hot, then lower the flame. Keep the sealed veg biryani handi on the tava. Keep the flame to the lowest and cook veg biryani for 25-30 minutes. You can also dum cook veg biryani for the first 15 minutes on direct low flame and then for the last 10 minutes, place the handi on the hot tava and cook on a low flame.
• Whichever way you are using make sure to give a standing time of 6-7 minute and then serve the Dum BIryani.
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  Serve this delicious Hyderabadi veg biryani With your choice of raita, onion-salad-kachumber, mango pickle, roasted papad. Other accompaniments for this Hyderabadi vegetable biryani are Mirchi ka salan and shorba gravy.