Veg Biryaniવેજ બિરયાની
Layers of spiced vegetables and part-cooked basmati, sealed and finished on low heat. More work than a pulao, and worth it when the lid comes off at the table.
Ingredients
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- 2 cups basmati, soaked 30 minutes
- 2 cups vegetables (carrot, cauliflower, peas, potato, beans)
- 2 onions, thinly sliced, for frying
- 1 cup yoghurt, 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- Biryani masala, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala
- Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaf
- Ghee, saffron milk, mint, coriander, salt
Method
- Fry the sliced onions in ghee until golden and crisp; half go into the vegetables, half on top.
- In the same ghee, crackle the whole spices, then cook the ginger-garlic, vegetables, yoghurt and ground spices for 10 minutes.
- Boil the rice in salted, spiced water until only 70 per cent done, then drain.
- In a heavy pot, layer the vegetables, then the rice, then fried onion, mint, coriander and saffron milk.
- Seal the lid tightly, with dough if you like, and cook on the lowest heat for 20-25 minutes.
- Open, fold gently from the bottom up, and serve with raita.
Tips
- Fully cooked rice turns to mush during the dum; stop at 70 per cent.
- Set the pot on a tawa to stop the base catching.
Storing and reheating
It keeps three days in an airtight box in the fridge. Cold rice feels hard, which is normal; the grains loosen again on reheating. The best way is to sprinkle two or three tablespoons of water into the pot, cover, and steam on low heat for five to seven minutes. In a microwave, always cover it, or the top layer dries out. Fluff it with a fork rather than a spoon.
What you can swap
- No biryani masala? Use garam masala with half a teaspoon of coriander-cumin powder and a pinch of nutmeg. Not identical, but close.
- If you have no saffron, resist putting turmeric in the milk, which changes the flavour. Instead warm the milk with a little ghee and two tablespoons of crushed fried onion and sprinkle that over.
- If your yoghurt is sour, mix in half a teaspoon of sugar and a tablespoon of cream. Very sour yoghurt splits when cooked with the vegetables.
- Any long-grain rice works in place of basmati, but soak for only twenty minutes and drain at 60 per cent rather than 70. Ordinary rice turns sticky faster.
What to serve with it
A one-pot dish for a day off, or for guests coming to eat. Onion-tomato boondi raita or cucumber raita is treated as more or less compulsory alongside, with a little pickle or papad. In a Gujarati home it is a dinner dish, standing in for dal and rice.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not rub the rice while washing it. Two or three gentle changes of water is enough. Rubbed grains break, and broken grains go sticky under dum.
- Do not layer with a wet vegetable mixture. The vegetables should be nearly dry. Too much liquid and the bottom layer of rice turns soggy.
- Do not lift the lid partway through the dum. The steam escapes and the top layer of rice stays undercooked.
- Do not stir it the moment you open the lid. Let it stand five to ten minutes, then fold gently from the bottom with a fork. Piping hot rice stirred with a spoon breaks up.
Questions people ask
Why did my rice turn sticky?
Check three things: whether the rice went past 70 per cent, whether the vegetables were too wet, and whether the dum was on the lowest possible flame. Press a grain as you drain it. There should still be a slight firmness in the centre; that is the right point.
My fried onions never go crisp. What is wrong?
Either they were sliced too thick or the whole lot went into the pan at once. Slice them thin and even, fry in batches, and lift them out just before they look golden, because they keep colouring off the heat. Spread them on tissue to drain.
Can biryani be made in a pressure cooker?
Yes. Layer it, take the whistle off, close the lid, set the cooker on a tawa and cook on low for fifteen minutes. If you leave the whistle on and cook under pressure it becomes pulao, not biryani: the layers merge and the grains break.
