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Hi Welcome to Archana’s Kitchen
Starting today is a series where I am going to start cooking fan requested recipes
Among the fan requested recipes is the Hyderabadi Veg Biryani
It is one of the most popular recipes from my website
Making the Biryani is a fairly elaborate process
Requires time, love and lots of love for spice
Below are the ingredients needed to make the vegetable biryani
Click on the video link to see how to steam vegetables and to see how to caramelise onions
Both of these will be used in making the Biryani
We will first begin by cooking the rice
Into a large sauce pan add in 2 cups of rice that has been washed and rinsed well under water
add in a few strands of saffron
Some salt to taste
and a tablespoon of oil or ghee
we add the oil or ghee so the grains of rice remain separate while cooking
Add two cups of water and give the rice a stir
Cover the pan and we will now partially cook the rice until it is light and fluffy and all the water is absorbed
Into a small grinder add in two roughly chopped onions
a couple of inches of ginger
two green chillies and finally 6 cloves of garlic
Grind this mixture into a smooth paste
transfer the masala paste into a small bowl and keep it aside.
I have some fresh spices with me like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and the bay leaves
Use a spice grinder or a pestle and motor to pound these spices until blended
We will not be pounding in the bay leaves, it will be added in separately into the biryani
Now we will begin to make the masala for the Hyderabadi Biryani
Add two tablespoons of oil into a large saucepan
Add in the onion ginger garlic paste and sauté it in the oil until the raw smell goes away
This process takes 4 to 5 minutes on medium heat
take care not to burn the ginger garlic paste and hence sauté it on medium to low heat
Once the onion mixture is well sautéed add in the bay leaves and the pounded spice mixture
Add in a teaspoon or more of turmeric powder
a teaspoon or more of garam masala powder
a large tablespoon of coriander powder
And finally some red chilli powder to suit your taste
Stir all the ingredients together and sauté for about a minute until you smell the aromas of the spices coming out and the masala comes together
Once the onion masala comes together, we will add in the two large chopped tomatoes
and half a cup of the tomato puree
Stir all the ingredients together
Cook the tomatoes in the masala for 7 to 8 minutes on low heat
You will notice that after it has cooked for 7 to 8 minutes you get a rich masala gravy at the end of it.
Once you have a rich masala gravy add in a half a cup of plain yogurt and stir it into the biryani masala gravy
Finally add in lots of chopped mint leaves
at this stage stir in the boiled potatoes
the steamed vegetables
some salt to taste
And finally a tablespoon of oil or ghee
Stir all the ingredients together.. the Biryani Masala is now ready to be cooked along with the half cooked rice
Its been about 15 minutes that the rice has been cooking
It looks perfectly half cooked with the flavours of saffron coming out
Use a spoon or a fork to fluff the rice up
Spread the cooked rice over the Biryani masala gravy
You can choose to layer your biryani, but you will need another large saucepan to layer the rice and masala alternatively
Once you have layered the rice over the biryani masala gravy
Cover the pan and simmer the rice on low heat to about 15 to 20 minutes
Until you notice the rice is fluffed up and cooked perfectly
After about 15 to 20 minutes, open the pan and notice the rice is fully and yet grainy
Give the biryani a gentle stir to combine all the masala gently into the rice
You can now transfer the Biryani to a serving dish and garnish it with the caramelised onions
and serve it along with Mirch Ka Salan for your parties or sunday lunch