Vegetable Biryani

Who doesn't love a big plate of hot, spicy, delicious Biryani on a cold evening? It's one those comfort foods that you crave after a busy day, but hearing "Biryani" often means a long time in the kitchen. Not at all! 

This version of Veg Biryani I'm sharing takes less than an hour of cooking but tastes no less amazing than the traditional slow cooked method.

Here it is, my version of VEGETABLE BIRYANI:

Ingredients: 1 cup long grain Basmati Rice, 1 onion sliced thin, 1 carrot chopped, 1 potato chopped, 1 capsicum chopped, handful of beans chopped, handful of Cauliflower florets, 1/2 cup yogurt/curds, 1 tbsp garam masala, 1 tsp turmeric powder, few chillies as desired, 2 tbsp cashews, 1 tbsp ghee, few cinnamon sticks, few cloves, few peppercorns, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, salt to taste, 3 tbsps milk, 5/6 strands saffron, handful of chopped mint leaves and coriander.

Make: 

1. Cook the rice in a little water than usual, so it's just undercooked. Keep aside. At the same time in another small dish soak the saffron in the milk (warm milk is better to release saffron flavour).

2. While rice is cooking, in a heavy bottom pan, add a little ghee and saute chilli, ginger garlic paste. Add in cinnamon sticks, cloves and peppercorns. Mix well then add in tumeric powder and garam masala. Finally add in the yogurt/curds. Mix well.

3. Add in all of the chopped vegetables except capsicum (as it will cook too fast and loose crunch). Add salt, mix and cover so veggies marinate while cooking in low flame, for about 10 minutes.

4. While veggies are cooking, in a separate pan, add ghee and sautee sliced onions. When onions are turning brown, add cashews and fry until everything is golden brown. Keep aside. Lightly fry the capsicum in the same pan and keep aside.

5. From the pan with veggies cooking, take out half of the vegetables, add in a layer of rice then place vegetables back on top as another layer. Lightly mix but try to keep layers.

6. Pour the saffron soaked milk all around then add chopped mint and coriander leaves. Finally garnish with the fried onion and cashews. Cover and cook for 5 to 10 more minutes. Serve hot with Salan or Raita. 

For a variation, try the Paneer Veg Biryani version. All the same as above, just one extra step of pan frying Paneer cubes marinated in yogurt/curds and garam masala. Add pan fried Paneer on top of the Biryani and serve.