This Hyderabadi Veg Biryani recipe is an authentic Indian vegetarian dish packed full of your favorite rice, veggies, and spices. Made with patience and lots of love, this delicious veg dum biryani requires both care and attention to detail. The savory flavors in your first bite are well worth the time and effort spent in the kitchen.

Ingredient :

• Rice: I prefer to use aged basmati rice, but regular basmati rice is also appropriate.
• Water: For soaking rice and for cooking the vegetable gravy and rice. You will also need kewra water (pandanus extract) or rose water for layering the dish.
• Veggies: Veg biryani can actually be made with just one vegetable or several different kinds of of veggies. I like to add a variety of vegetables when making this vegetarian dish. In this recipe, I have added a mix of cauliflower, onions, potatoes, carrots, french beans, bell pepper (capsicum), button mushrooms and green peas. You can even add aubergines, cabbage, broccoli, spinach and kale in your veg dum biryani.
• Dairy: Ghee or clarified butter, Curd (yogurt) and milk.
• Nuts: Cashews and almonds.
• Seasonings: Cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, tej patta (Indian bay leaf), mace and saffron strands, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder or cayenne pepper or paprika
• Other Ingredients: Shah jeera (caraway seeds), raisins (without seeds), ginger, garlic, chilies, coriander leaves or cilantro, mint leaves

Directions :

Soak Rice

1. First, rinse 1.5 cups of basmati rice (300 grams) in clean water until the water runs clear of starch. You can use a bowl or colander to rinse the rice. Make sure you soak the rice grains in water for 30 minutes after rinsing them.

Once the rice has been able to soak for 30 minutes, drain all the water and set aside.

Prep Vegetables

While the basmati rice is soaking, use that time to prep the other ingredients. First, you will want to rinse, peel and chop all of the veggies. This will make the process of cooking go by much quicker.

What to use: I have used 3 cups mixed veggies including green peas. You can use your choice of mixed vegetables for your veg dum biryani.

1. Onion: Slice 1 large onion thinly (about 1 heaped cup thinly sliced onion).
2. Ginger: Finely chop or crush 10 grams ginger (2 pieces of 2 inch ginger or 1.5 tablespoons finely chopped ginger). You should get 1 tablespoon of ginger paste.
3. Garlic: Finely chop or crush 5 grams garlic (10 to 12 medium garlic cloves or 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic). You will need ½ tablespoon garlic paste.
4. Chilies: Slit 3 to 4 green chilies.
5. Cilantro: Chop coriander leaves (cilantro) and mint leaves. You should get ⅓ cup each of chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves.

Cook Rice

1. After you have organized and chopped all of your vegetables, it is time to cook the basmati rice. You can use any method to cook your rice – microwave, pressure cooking, instant pot or cooking in a pot. If cooking your rice in a pot, use a deep bottomed pan and add 5 cups water.

2. . When the water is hot, add all the spices and 1 teaspoon salt. Here’s what you want to include for your veg dum biryani in this step:

• 1 tej patta
• 3 green cardamoms
• 3 cloves
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 inch true cinnamon or 1 inch cassia cinnamon
• 2 single strands of mace

 

1. After adding the ingredients, bring the water to a boil on a high heat.
2. Now it is time to add the rice for your veg biryani to the spice mixture in the pot.
3. Gently stir with a spoon or fork after you add the soaked basmati rice. Check the taste of water and ensure it is slightly salty.
4. Do not reduce the heat and continue to cook the rice grains.
5. The rice should not be fully cooked, but a bit undercooked or about 75% or ¾ of the way cooked.
6. Drain the semi-cooked rice in a colander. You can also rinse them gently with water so that the grains stop cooking.

Make Biryani Gravy

In a 2-litre pressure cooker or a pan, heat 3 tablespoons of ghee, then add the following spices. Sauté the whole spices until they crackle. You can make the vegetable gravy in a pan as well.

• 1 teaspoon shah jeera (caraway seeds)
• 1 tej patta
• 3 green cardamoms
• 3 cloves
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 inch cinnamon

1. Next, add the sliced onions.
2. Stir and sauté the onions on a low to medium heat. Onions can take a long time to cook, so add a pinch of salt to quicken the cooking process. Stirring often sauté the onions, so that they cook evenly.
3. When the onions are cooking, take 1 cup fresh curd or yogurt in a bowl. Beat the curd with a spoon or whisk until it becomes smooth.
4. Sauté the onions until they become golden brown or caramelize. Try not to burn them.
5. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sliced green chilies. You can also finely chop the ginger-garlic and add if desired.
6. Sauté the mixture for some seconds until the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
7.  Add the ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne. Stir and mix well.
8. Next add the chopped veggies.
9. Mix thoroughly and sauté veggies for 1 to 2 minutes.
10. Lower the heat and add the beaten yogurt or curd. Stir as soon as you add the curd.
11. Then add ½ cup of water in the pressure cooker. If you decide to cook the veggies in a pot, add ¾ cup water.
12. Season with salt according to taste and mix again.
13. Pressure cook for 1 whistle or 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat. If cooking in a pot, then cook until the veggies are done. Don’t overcook the vegetables.
14. When the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid and check the gravy.
15. Add 2 tablespoons cashews, 1 tablespoons raisins and 2 tablespoons almonds (blanched or raw) to the vegetable gravy.
16. Mix, stir, and set aside.
17. While the veggies are cooking, warm 4 to 5 tablespoons of milk in a microwave or in a small pan on the stove top. Add ¼ teaspoon of saffron strands. Stir and set aside.
18. Now in a thick bottomed pan, layer half of the vegetable curry first.
19. Then layer half of the semi cooked rice.
20. Sprinkle half of the chopped coriander (cilantro), mint leaves and saffron infused milk.
21. Layer the remaining gravy.
22. Layer the remainder of the rice, and sprinkle the remaining coriander leaves (cilantro), mint leaves, saffron milk on the top. You can also sprinkle 2 teaspoon of rose water or kewra water (pandanus extract) at this point.
23. Seal and secure the pot with aluminium foil.
24. Then cover the pan/pot with a tight fitting lid.
25. You can also seal the pan with a moist cotton cloth.
26. Then keep a lid on top.
27. Then keep a heavy weight on the lid.
28. Take a tawa (griddle/skillet) and heat it on medium heat. You can begin to preheat the tava when you start assembling the hyderabadi veg biryani.
29. Preheat the oven to 180 degree celsius for 15 minutes and then bake the vegetable biryani in a preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
30. After 30 to 25 minutes, switch off the flame, and use a fork or spoon check the bottom layer of the biryani. There should be no liquids at the bottom.