Briyani is a mixed rice dish from South Asia. It is made with spices, rice and meat or vegetables. It is a most popular and common rice dish all over India. It is very tasty and consumes very little time to prepare. It goes out well with raita.

Do check out my other Biryani Collections (10+ recipes) includes veg and non-veg in this link: https://madraasi.com/2015/07/17/biryani/.

Vegetable Biryani

Vegetable Biryani with onion-tomato raita, lemon pickle and Banana Chips

Ingredients:

• Onion – 1 no
• Tomato – 1 no
• Ginger-garlic – 1 tbsp
• Green chilli – 1 no
• Mixed vegetables (carrot, cauliflower, beans, green peas, potato) – 1 ½ cup
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Coriander powder – 1 tsp
• Curd / Yogurt – ¼ cup
• Ghee / Clarified Butter – 3 tsp
• Oil – 2 tsp
• Mint and coriander leaves – a handful
• Cloves – 3 no
• Cardamom – 2 nos
• Cinnamon – 1 inch stick
• Star Anise – 1 no
• Bay leaf – 2 nos
• Long grain (Basmathi) rice – 2 ½ cup

Spices and ginger-garlic getting tempered in ghee/clarified butter

With onions, tomato, coriander and mint leaves

With chopped vegetables

veggies getting cooked

With all spice powders

With yogurt/curd

With rice

About to be pressure-cooked

Pressure-cooked

Vegetable Biryani

Vegetable Biryani with onion-tomato raita, lemon pickle and Banana Chips

Preparation:

• Soak rice for 15 mins in water.
• Finely chop the coriander and mint leaves.
• Peel and dice the carrots and potatoes, separate cauliflower to small florets, cut beans lengthwise, slit the green chillies and finely chop onions and tomatoes into small pieces.
• Heat ghee and oil in a pressure cooker, add all the spices and wait till it splutters.
• Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell goes off.
• Add the onions and sauté till they turn golden brown, followed by tomatoes till they become mushy.
• Add the vegetables and sauté them for a while, add turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt and coriander powder and sauté them for about 10 mins.
• Pour in the curd/yogurt and stir it well.
• Drain the water, add the rice and saute it for 5 mins.
• Pour in 3 cups of water, let it boil, pour in a tsp of lemon juice and pressure-cook for 2 whistles.
• Remove the lid when the pressure subsides.

Serve hot with a gravy and raita. Goes out well with mushroom curry, onion-tomato raita, lemon pickle and Banana chips.