This Veg Biryani is an authentic Indian vegetarian recipe filled with your favorite rice, spices and vegetables. Made with a lot of love and patience, this delicious veg dum biryani requires both attention and care.
What is Biryani
Simply put, Biryani is a pot of rice and curry. Curry can be meat based or vegetable based.
Similar to some layered and baked pasta dishes, the curry is covered with semi-cooked rice – later to be baked or cooked until the rice is fully cooked and the curry or sauce has been set. been absorbed by the rice.
Usually, the meat is marinated and cooked later for curry, but for vegetables, marinating is not done or is necessary.
Biryani is also known as Biriyani and is popular not only in India but also in South Asia.
What is Dum Cooking
Dum baking is also known as dum pukht or dum baking. The method of cooking dum pukht comes from Persia.
It is a technique or method of slowly cooking food in hermetically sealed earthenware pots. The different layers of food or ingredients are kept in a saucepan or clay pot which is then sealed tightly using wheat flour dough.
As the jar is tightly closed, steam cannot escape from it. The result is that the food ingredients or layers are cooked slowly in the steam from the pot and in their own juice, which makes the food very tasty.
Traditionally, clay pots are used when making dum biryani. Nutrients are not lost in this process and therefore dum-cooked foods are nutritious.
Why this recipe works
This Hyderabadi Vegetarian Biryani is one of the best vegetarian biryani recipes I have made – loved by friends, family and readers for over 10 years.
There are hundreds of different variations on how to make a vegetarian biryani recipe, each with their own unique tastes, ingredients, and flavors – but my proven recipe is loosely based on my mom’s version and a Jigg Kalra book that I have. had bought decades ago.
I have experimented with this vegetarian biryani recipe over the years with different proportions of ingredients. And finally, I have arrived at the perfect recipe which is incredibly delicious and demands even more from you.
I forgot how many times I have made this veg dum biryani recipe for family, friends, and reunions. It has always been a popular dish on the dining table.
In my opinion, recipes are always even better when it comes to love and care!
This type of veg dum biryani is a bit spicy, light, and super delicious. The subtle flavors of caramelized onions, garam masala and yogurt are perfectly infused into the veggie chunks.
Each bite has the taste, flavor and aroma of masala, as well as the unique taste of vegetables. It really is a perfectly balanced dish.
What ingredients should I use?
Rice: I prefer to use aged basmati rice, but regular basmati rice is also suitable.
Water: For soaking rice and for cooking vegetable sauce and rice. You will also need kewra water (pandanus extract) or rose water to layer the dish.
Vegetables: Vegetable biryani can actually be made with a single vegetable or with multiple types of vegetables. I like to add various vegetables when making this vegetarian dish. In this recipe, I added a mixture of cauliflower, onions, potatoes, carrots, green beans, bell pepper (capsicum), button mushrooms and green peas. You can even add eggplant, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, and kale to your veg dum biryani.
Dairy products: Ghee or clarified butter, curd (yogurt) and milk.
Nuts: cashews and almonds.
Seasonings: cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, tej patta (Indian bay leaf), mace and saffron sprigs, salt, turmeric powder, red pepper powder or cayenne pepper or paprika
Other ingredients: Coriander or cilantro leaves, garlic, ginger, raisins (without seeds), shah jeera (caraway seeds), peppers, mint leaves
How to make Veg Biryani
Soak the rice
1. Rinse 1.5 cups of basmati rice (300 grams) in clean water until it is free from starch. You can use a bowl or a colander to rinse the rice. Make sure to soak the rice kernels in water for 30 minutes after rinsing them.
TIP: If possible, try using aged basmati rice or sella basmati rice (parboiled basmati rice) to make this hyderabadi vegetarian biryani.
2. Once the rice has had a chance to soak for 30 minutes, drain all the water and set aside.
Prepare the vegetables
3. While the basmati rice is soaking, use this time to prepare the other ingredients. First, you’ll want to rinse, peel, and chop all the vegetables. This will make the cooking process much faster.
What to use: I used 3 cups of mixed vegetables including green peas. For your veg dum biryani, you can use your choice of mixed vegetables.
- Onion: Thinly slice 1 large onion (about 1 full cup of thinly sliced onion).
- Ginger: Finely chop or mash 10 grams of ginger (2 2-inch pieces of ginger or 1.5 tablespoon finely chopped ginger). You should get 1 tablespoon of ginger paste.
- Garlic: Chop or finely crush 5 grams of garlic (10 to 12 medium garlic cloves or 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic). You will need ½ tablespoon of garlic paste.
- Peppers: cut 3 to 4 green peppers.
- Coriander: Chop the coriander leaves (coriander) and the mint leaves. You should get ⅓ cup each of chopped cilantro leaves and mint leaves.
Cook the rice
4. After you’ve organized and chopped all of your vegetables, it’s time to cook the basmati rice. You can use any method to cook your rice – microwave, pressure cook, instant casserole, or pan cook.
If you are cooking your rice in a saucepan, use a deep-bottomed saucepan and add 5 cups of water.
Add spices to boiling water
5. When the water is hot, add all the spices and 1 teaspoon of salt. Here’s what you need to include in this step for your veg dum biryani:
- 1 tej patta
- 3 green cardamoms
- 3 cloves
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 inch real cinnamon or 1 inch cassia cinnamon
- 2 single strands of mass
6. After adding the ingredients, bring the water to a boil over high heat.
Add rice
7. Now is the time to add the rice in the pot for your veggie biryani to the spice mix.
8. Stir gently with a spoon or fork after adding the soaked basmati rice. Check the taste of the water and make sure it is slightly salty.
TIP: If the water doesn’t taste slightly salty, add a little more salt.
9. Do not reduce the heat and continue to cook the grains of rice.
Do not fully cook the rice
10. The rice should not be completely cooked, but a little undercooked or about 75% or ¾ of the cooking time.
TIP: Taste the rice! The grains should still have a slight bite.
11. Drain the semi-cooked rice in a colander. You can also rinse them gently with water so that they stop cooking.
Make a vegetable sauce
12. In a 2-liter pressure cooker or saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons of ghee, then add the following spices. Sauté whole spices until they crackle. You can also prepare the vegetable sauce in a saucepan.
- 1 teaspoon of shah jeera (caraway seeds)
- 1 tej patta
- 3 green cardamoms
- 3 cloves
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 inch of cinnamon
13. Then add the chopped onions.
Sauté the onions
14. Stir and brown the onions over low to medium heat. Onions can take a long time to cook, so add a pinch of salt to speed up the cooking process. Stirring often, sauté onions to cook evenly.
15. When the onions are cooking, take 1 cup of sour milk or fresh yogurt in a bowl. Beat or whisk the curd with a spoon until it becomes smooth.
16. Sauté the onions until they turn golden or caramelized. Try not to burn them.
Add the ginger paste and the garlic and peppers
17. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sliced green peppers. You can also finely chop the ginger-garlic and add it if you want.
18. Sauté the mixture for a few seconds until the raw aroma of ginger and garlic is gone.
19. Add ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon of red pepper or cayenne powder. Stir and mix well.
20. Then add the chopped vegetables.
21. Mix well and sauté the vegetables for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add yogurt or curd
22. Lower the heat and add the beaten curd or yogurt. Stir as soon as you add the curd.
23. Then add ½ cup of water to the pressure cooker. If you decide to cook the vegetables in a saucepan, add ¾ cup of water.
24. Season with salt to taste and mix again.
Cook the vegetables
25. Pressure cook 1 whistle or 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat. If you are cooking in a saucepan, cook until the vegetables are cooked. Do not overcook the vegetables.
26. When the pressure stabilizes on its own, remove the lid and check the sauce.
- If the vegetables are not cooked through, keep the pressure cooker on the stove and simmer the vegetable biryani sauce without the lid.
- If there is too much water or broth in the sauce, simmer until the water dries up. The vegetable sauce should be medium or slightly thick in consistency and should not be watery.
27. Add 2 tablespoons of cashews, 1 tablespoon of raisins and 2 tablespoons of almonds (blanched or raw) to the vegetable sauce.
TIP: Check the salt and add more if necessary. You can chop the nuts before adding them.
28. Mix, stir and set aside.
Infuse the saffron in the milk
29. While the vegetables are cooking, heat 4 to 5 tablespoons of milk in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove. Add ¼ teaspoon of saffron strands. Stir and set aside.
Assemble and layer
30. Now, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, first place half of the vegetable curry.
31. Next, layer half of the semi-cooked rice on top of each other.
32. Garnish with half of the chopped coriander (cilantro), the mint leaves and the saffron infused milk.
33. Layer the rest of the sauce.
34. Layer the rest of the rice and sprinkle the remaining coriander leaves (cilantro), mint leaves and saffron milk on top. You can also sprinkle 2 teaspoons of rose water or kewra water (pandan extract) at this point.
TIP: If you want, you can even add ? to ½ cup golden fried onions (birista) if you have them. You can create 2 layers or 4 layers like I did. But remember that the rice should be the top layer and the vegetable sauce should be the bottom layer.
Three Ways of Dum Cook
Method 1
35. Seal and secure the jar with aluminum foil.
36. Then cover the pot / pot with a tight fitting lid.
Method 2
37. You can also seal the pan with a damp cotton cloth.
38. Then keep a lid on top.
39. Then hold a heavy weight on the cover.
Continue to cook
40. Take a tawa (hot plate / pan) and heat it over medium heat. You can start preheating the tava when you start to assemble the hyderabadi veg biryani.
Lower the heat when the pan gets hot and keep the vegetable biryani pan sealed on the tawa. Keep the flame low and cook for 30 to 35 minutes.
TIP: You can also cook the vegetarian biryani for the first 15 minutes over direct low heat, then for the last 10 minutes, place the pot on the hot tawa or pan and cook over low heat.
Method 3 – Baking
41. For 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius then bake the vegetable biryani in a preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.
Remember to use a glass bowl or ovenproof pan like the pyrex bowl or use a dutch oven.
You need to assemble the vegetable biryani as mentioned above in the casserole or casserole dish. Seal tightly with aluminum foil or heat resistant ovenproof lid, then bake.
Check out cooked biryani
42. After 30 to 25 minutes, turn off the flame and use a fork or spoon to check the bottom layer of the biryani. There should be no liquid at the bottom.
If there are liquids, continue cooking. After the dum has cooked, let stand for 5 to 7 minutes and later serve the hyderabadi veg biryani.
While serving the veg dum biryani, be sure to also serve the vegetables and layers of rice.
