From the house of Nizams comes the mouth-wateringly delicious Hyderabadi Dum Biryani, a main part in Indian cuisine. Although there are many versions of Biryanis in the Indian cuisine, namely Ambur Biryani, Mangalorean Biryani, Kerala Biryani, Chettinad Biryani, Mughlai Biryani, Kashmiri Biryani etc, Hyderabadi style of Biryani varieties are in high demand in all restaurants. Even when people prepare this Biryani at home, there are very few who actually use the authentic method.
But from what I have seen at my home, I can tell you that Dum Biryani is not as difficult as many think it to be. Of course, it takes efforts, but the product is very delicious. The traditional Dum Pukht style (meaning choking the steam) is what I am sharing here. However, I have also mentioned the alternate method of cooking the same in oven or pressure cooker.
In the Dum Pukht method, you will have all the aromas of spices and herbs trapped inside the pot and the nutrients of the ingredients are also not lost. This imparts a unique blend of flavors of the vegetables and rice that is different from other methods of cooking. My recipe is simple with easily available all season vegetables.
Hyderabadi Veg Biryani Recipe
- Preparation Time: 45 minutes
- Cooking Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 90 minutes
- Servings: 4 plates
- Measurement: 1 cup= 250 ml
Required Ingredients:
For Rice:
- 1.5 Cups Basmati Rice
- 1 Cup Water for Soaking Rice
For Veggies:
- 50 Grams French Beans or ¼ Cup Evenly Chopped Beans.
- 150 Grams of Cauliflower
- 2 Medium Potatoes Chopped
- 1 Medium Carrot Chopped.
- 8 Button Mushrooms Chopped
- 1 Medium Capsicum Chopped To Small Pieces
- ½ Cup Green Peas
- 1 Large Onion Thinly Sliced
- 1.5 tbsp of Finely Chopped Ginger
- 1 tbsp Finely Chopped Garlic
- 2 Green Chillis Sliced
For Cooking Rice
- 2 Green Cardamoms (Chhoti Elaichi)
- 2 Black Cardamoms (Badi Elaichi)
- 2 Cloves (Lavang)
- 1 Inch Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Tej Patta (Bay Leaf)
- 2 Single Mace Strands
- 5 Cups of Water
- Salt to Taste
For Vegetable Curry:
- 3 tbsp Oil or Ghee
- 1 Teaspoon Shah Jeera
- 1 Tej Patta (Bay Leaf)
- 3 Green Cardamoms
- 1 Black Cardamom
- 1 Inch Cinnamon
- 1 Cup Fresh Yogurt
- ½ Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Red Chilli
- ½ Cup Water for Cooking Rice in Pressure Cooker (If you are using pot, take ¾ cup of water)
- 2 tbsp Cashew
- 1 tbsp Raisin (Kishmish)
- 2 tbsp Almonds (Badam) Sliced
- Salt as required
For Layering:
- 1/3 cup Chopped Coriander Leaves
- 1/3 cup Chopped Mint Leaves
- 4 tbsp of Milk
- ¼ tbsp Saffron Strands
- 2 Teaspoons Rose Water
How To Make Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani At Home?
1. Wash and rinse basmati rice properly till it is free of starch. Then soak it in 1 cup of water for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, filter away the water.
3. Meanwhile, chop the vegetables and prepare other ingredients.
4. Now take a pot ideal for Biryani and add 5 cups of water in it.
5. Let the water boil on high flame.
6. As the water boils slightly, add the spices- tej patta, green cardamoms, cloves, black cardamom, cinnamon in the amount mentioned in ingredients section.
7. When water boils, add the rice.
8. Keep the flame high as the rice cooks.
9. Take care that we want rice to be 75% cooked not 100%.
10. Check the rice with a fork. Once it is done, filter the water and keep rice aside.
11. Now take a pan or pressure cooker and heat ghee or oil.
12. To this add shah jeera, tej patta, green cardamoms, cloves, black cardamoms and cinnamon ( in amounts mentioned in ingredients)
13. Saute these condiments till they fry up nicely.
14. Add thinly chopped onions and sauté.
15. You can add salt at this point which makes the onions fry up quickly.
16. Meanwhile take one cup yogurt and beat it nicely to make it smooth.
17. Now when the onions turn golden brown, add sliced green chilies and ginger- garlic to this.
18. After you sauté this nicely, add turmeric and red chili powder. Mix all the ingredients well.
19. Then add the vegetables and stir well.
20. Make sure you sauté the veggies nicely but avoid over-cooking them.
21. Then add yogurt.
22. Add salt and water as required.
23. If you are cooking in pressure cooker, cook on medium flame till one whistle. If you are cooking in a pot, continue till the vegetables are fairly cooked.
24. Now heat 4-5 tbsp of milk in a small pan. Add ¼ tsp strands of saffron in it and stir. Just when the milk gets warm, switch off and keep aside.
25. Stir the veggies on low flame and check the gravy. Gravy should be medium thick. It should not be flowing but have thick consistency.
26. Adjust the level of water and add salt according to taste.
27. Now add cashew, raisins and almonds to this gravy. Mix well.
28. Next, we come to layering of rice and veggies. Take a thick pan and spread half of the total veggies and gravy.
29. Then layer half of the rice.
30. Now sprinkle half of coriander and mint leaves chopped earlier. Also few drops of saffron milk.
31. Now repeat the same for remaining gravy, rice and coriander, mint and saffron milk. Sprinkle few drops of rose water in the end.
32. Make sure to leave rice as the last layer.
33. Next, we have to seal the pot. This can be done with aluminum foil. Otherwise one can use moist cloth and then put a lid over it. Or else seal the edges of pot and lid with chapatti dough.
34. Now, take a tava and heat it on high flame. Place the sealed pot on it. Cook on medium flame for about 5 minutes.
35. Cook on low flame for about 25- 30 minutes.
36. Remove the seal after 30 minutes. Hyderabadi Veg Biryani is ready to serve.
How To Serve?
- Veg Biryani is best served with Raita and pickles.
- You can make curd and vegetable salad to go with Biryani.
- Do not forget papad for that perfect crunch with Biryani.
- For garnishing, place slices of veggies and a lemon.
- Placing small pieces of boiled eggs also looks attractive.
Important Tips and Precautions
- There are many ways to make veg Biryani. As this is Hyderabad cuisine, Dum style is best suited. Some people also prefer oven for this Biryani.
- In case you are using microwave oven, layer the rice and veggies in an oven proof glass bowl like pyrex bowl and then bake it. For this, preheat the oven over 180 degree Celsius. Then bake it for 20-25 minutes.
- Instead of adding the dry fruits while sauting veggies, you can sauté them separately and add in end on rice while layering.
- As saffron is not easily available, one can simply roast few pieces of almond in ghee and add while layering.
Although there are modern versions of cooking this Biryani in Oven and pressure cooker, the classical method yields the best tasting Biryani. One mistake people generally make while making Biryani is using vegetables in more amount than rice. All kinds of Biryanis are tasty when you have tasty spicy rice to bite on along with some pieces of vegetables. Also, the rice should not be over cooked.
Hyderabadi Biryani should not be confused Mughlai Biryani which also comes from the house of Mughals. Although both are cooked in the Dum style, the ingredients are different. The Dum pukth style of this recipe is used for many other versions of Biryani from veg to non-veg.
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