Vegetable biryani
Local name : बिरयानी
Basmati parboiled with whole spices, layered over spiced vegetables and fried onions, then sealed in a pot to finish.
Photo : Phadke09 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 80 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
Method
- Fry the onions in the oil for 20 minutes until deep brown. Lift them onto kitchen paper and keep 3 tbsp of the oil.
- Toss the vegetables with the yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala, chilli, turmeric and salt. Marinate for 20 minutes.
- Bring 3 litres of salted water to the boil with the whole spices. Add the drained rice and cook for 5 minutes. The grain stays firm at the core.
- Drain the rice. Pour the reserved oil into a heavy pot and spread the marinated vegetables over the base.
- Cover with the rice, scatter the fried onions, mint and coriander, then pour over the saffron milk.
- Seal with a heavy lid or a rope of dough. Cook for 5 minutes on high heat, then 25 minutes on the lowest heat.
- Rest off the heat for 10 minutes. Open and lift the rice from the bottom with a large spoon.
The rice cooks in two stages: it leaves the boiling water half done and finishes in the steam rising off the vegetables. That trapped steam is what dum means, a covered pot sealed shut. A tea towel wedged under the lid does the job of the dough rope.
