I have tried Dum Biryani a couple of times before but have never achieved that perfect Restaurant Style Biryani. I usually do a quick version of Vegetable Rice/Veg Biryani since the elaborate steps overwhelm me. Also the fear of mushy, soggy biryani is not worth after you have spent an hour to prepare it. This time for my husband’a birthday I prepared Dum Biryani irrespective of the fear. Luckily it turned out so good and I too managed to take step by step pictures. Though it is not a very authentic recipe the rice was delicious. Hope it helps you too.
I used aluminium foil to cover the cooker instead of dough. However you can prepare a thick whole wheat dough and cover the vessel to retain the flavors. Also I didn’t had saffron at home. So just to give that orangish yellow tinge I mixed a tsp of Turmeric in warm milk and added it at the end. If you have saffron at home kindly use it instead of turmeric
Notes :
- Soak Basmati Rice for atleast 30 minutes
- Do not skimp on oil & ghee. Since we are not adding too much water, we need the fat to ensure the Rice gets cooked as well as not get dried out
- Whole spices like Cinnamon, Cloves, Bay leaf gives great flavor to the Rice. Use them without fail
- I have added less spice since we don’t eat too much of spicy food. However you can adjust spice levels based on your preference
- Make sure the yogurt you use to marinate veggies is not too sour or too runny. It might spoil the taste of Biryani
- I sliced two onions thinly and then deep fried them in oil. However if you want to use store bought deep fried onions you can use them as well
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Passive Time | 30 minutes soak time for Rice |
| Servings |
people
|
Ingredients
Ingredients for vegetable mix
- 1 carrot
- 2 Medium sized Potatoes
- 1/2 capsicum
- 2 Tomatoes
- 7-8 French Beans
- 10-15 Cauliflower florets
- 2 Garlic pods
- 1/4 tsp ginger pieces
- 1/4 cup Frozen Green Peas
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tsp Turmeri
- 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
- 1/2 tsp Saunf
- 1 tbsp Ghee or Cooking oil
Ingredients for cooking Rice
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 5 Green Cardamom
- 1/2 Black Cardamom
- 2 Bay leaf
- 5 Cloves
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon Pieces
- 1/2 tsp Oil
Ingredients for Layering
- 1 tbsp ghee
- Few Mint leaves
- Few fresh Coriander Leaves
- 1/2 cup Fried Onions
- 1/4 cup Warm Milk + A pinch of Turmeric powder please Substitute turmeric with Saffron if you have it at home
- Aluminium Foil
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Ingredients
Ingredients for vegetable mix
Ingredients for cooking Rice
Ingredients for Layering
|
|
Instructions
Preparation of Vegetable Mix
- Chop the vegetable length wise. Wash the cauliflower florets in hot water and drain extra water in kitchen towel
- Later take a wide vessel. Add all the veggies except onion, tomatoes.
- Add yogurt, turmeric,chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Mix everything together. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
- Then heat ghee in a pan
- Add saunf. Let it splutter
- Add onions and saute until it is translucent. Add tomatoes, ginger garlic pieces. Saute for a minute
- Add the marinated veggies
- Add 1/2 tsp Salt and give it a mix. Do not add water
- Let the veggies get half cooked. You can see the oil releasing in the pan. Turn off the stove and keep this mix aside
Preparation of Rice
- Boil 4 cups of water in a vessel
- Add oil, whole spices. Let it come to rolling boil
- Add Rice
- In exactly 7-8 minutes you will see Rice is half cooked
- It will still look grainy. No worries at the end we will get the perfect texture for Biryani
- Drain the water and keep it aside
Layering the Biryani
- Since the quantity was less, I used my small cooker
- Apply ghee or butter on the sides, bottome of the cooker. This will ensure rice to not get stuck at the bottom
- Add the half cooked veggies mix
- Add some rice on top
- Add some fresh coriander leaves and mint leaves
- Repeat it two times. At the end add the frozen peas, fried onion, splash the turmeric milk and lime juic
- Seal the cooker with foil
- Heat dosa tawa or a pan
- Once it is hot place the cooker on the tawa
- Leave it to get cooked for 12-15 minutes approximately. The timing may vary
- So keep an eye and don't let the rice to get overcooked
- Later remove the cooker from heat and gently give it a mix
- A closer look
- Serve the delicious Dum Biryani with Raita
Recipe Notes