Vegetable Platter: Biryani

Mum's Vegetable Biryani - Instant Pot & Pressure Cooker Method

If I would be asked to name the Top 5 dishes my Mum makes, this Biryani would definitely make it to the list.

I vividly remember my Mum getting this recipe from my school friend's mom way back in the early 90s. It turned out to be a big hit at home & since then it has become one of Mum's most requested signature dishes.

My parents are visiting us & yesterday I got my mom to make this for us

So, What makes this Biryani Different are 2 things,

One is the addition of Beetroot Paste. It gives the Biryani a nice hue without adding too much chili powder

2nd is the Fresh Spice Mix that gets added. We do not use any store bought or pre made Biryani Masala, except for the store-bought chili powder.

You Will Need:

1 cup Basmati Rice
1 large Onion - sliced lengthwise
2 medium sized ripe Tomatoes
1 Potato - Diced
1 Carrot- diced
1 small Beetroot - Grated & made into a paste
1/4 cup Green Peas - Fresh/Frozen
1 tablespoon Ghee
1 tablespoon Butter or Cooking Oil
3-4 Bay Leaves
2 Star Anise
A sprig of Curry Leaves
2 inches grated Ginger
4-5 cloves of chopped Garlic
Juice of Half a lime
Salt as per taste
A handful of Cashewnuts
A Handful of fresh Coriander for Garnish
1 tablespoon chopped Mint Leaves for Garnish - Optional

For the Spice Mix:

1 tablespoon Saunf/Fennel Seeds
2 nos. 1 inch stick of Cinnamon
4 cloves
4 Green Cardamom
1 teaspoon chili powder (Or more)
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder

Add all the ingredients mentioned above into a blender jar & blend into a fine powder

PRESSURE COOKER METHOD:

Add Basmati Rice into a colander & clean under running water, drain & set aside

In a pressure Cooker, heat Butter & Ghee, once hot enough, add Bay Leaves, Star Anise, Curry Leaves, Ginger & Garlic & sauté for 30 seconds

Next, add sliced onions & sauté for a couple of minutes. Add chopped Tomatoes & the Spice powder & sauté for 4-5 minutes until the raw smell disappears & tomatoes become pulpy

Add all the vegetables one after the other, including the beetroot paste & continue to sauté for another 2-3 minutes.

Add Basmati rice & give it a good mix

In another pot, boil 1.5 cups of water while the vegetables are cooking

Add this hot water into the cooker, add Salt, Mix well to deglaze the cooker pan. Close the lid let it cook for 1 whistle.

Turn off the hear & let the pressure settle.

Once the Biryani cools does a bit, carefully fluff with a fork. Add lime juice, if you want to & mix carefully

Garnish with chopped coriander, mint & Cashew nuts. Serve with Raita on the side

INSTANT POT METHOD:

Turn on the Sauté mode in the Instant Pot. Select the Normal Mode
Add Ghee & Butter into it, once its hot enough, add bay leaves, star anise, curry leaves ginger & garlic & sauté for 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, To speeden the cooking process, I keep 1.5 cups of water to boil on the stovetop

Next, add sliced onions & sauté for a couple of minutes. Add chopped Tomatoes & the Spice powder & sauté for 4-5 minutes until the raw smell disappears & tomatoes become pulpy

Add all the vegetables one after the other, including the beetroot paste & continue to sauté for another 2-3 minutes.

Add Basmati rice & give it a good mix.

Add this hot water into the cooker, add Salt, Mix well to deglaze the cooker pan.

Now, Press the cancel button to cancel the sauté mode. Close the lid & close the vent to sealing position (I have the model in which the vent automatically seals itself when closed)

Choose the Pressure Cook mode & Pressure cook on High for 4 minutes

When the instant pot beeps, Do an NPR (No Pressure Release) for 4 minutes & then manually release the remaining pressure.

Meanwhile, in a teaspoon of ghee toast cashew nuts. Add the toasted cashew nuts on top.

Let the Biryani cool & little bit then gently fluff with a fork & add lime juice & mix gently. Serve with Raita or Yogurt on the side

NOTES:

Two things you must absolutely not miss is adding the beetroot paste, it gives a beautiful color to the Biryani, & don't worry it wont turn the Biryani Pink

And Fennel Seeds in the Spice mix, it adds a lovely flavor

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, by Deepthi Shankar

Biryani

Leftover Makeover: Biryani using Leftover Vegetable Kurma

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, by Deepthi Shankar

Biryani

The Fiery Chettinad Biryani

Here is a revamped post on Chettinad Biryani. The first time, I made this recipe was way back in 2009. I made it several times after that And, somehow I never went back to making this version again. in a long time. Although, I have a few favourites, I keep trying new versions of to improvise.

This recipe has been well received by my readers. A few of them wrote back to me mentioning that it turned out very well for them. So, do give it a try
You will love this version of Biryani, if you have a thing for Spicy Biryani. Chettinad Cuisine is known for its Spice after all

The very first time I tried this Biryani was in Goa. We were away on a little getaway & it had been a couple of days since I had eaten rice & I was really craving for a big bowl of Rice & Dal. It was late in the night & a small eat out that we went to didn't have much rice options. Chettinad Biryani was on the list & I placed an order without expecting much. Goa isn't a place for Chettinad Cuisine anyway.

I had never tried Chettinad Biryani before & this one was one of the good Biryanis I had tasted. I came back home & did my little research to recreate the recipe. And, this is quite close

You Will Need:

1 cup Basmati Rice
1 Big Onion - sliced lengthwise
2 carrots - cleaned & diced
1/2 cup Green Peas - fresh/frozen
1 big potato - peeled & diced
2 tbsp Ghee
A small piece of ginger
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Turmeric
2 Bay Leaves
A handful of chopped fresh coriander
Juice of half a lime
Salt as per taste

To Roast & Grind:

1 big onion
2 tomatoes
5-6 cloves
A small stick of cinnamon
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
2 green cardamom
2 Black Cardamom
5-6 cloves of garlic
7-8 Dry Red chilies - I used Byadagi Chilies
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4th tsp black pepper
1 tbsp fresh grated coconut

How To:

Clean Basmati Rice under running water until the water runs clear. Soak in ample water & set aside for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. Immerse diced potatoes in water until put to use.

In a small pan, dry roast all the ingredients mentioned in the list, except Onios, tomatoes & garlic. Once the spices are aromatic & transfer into a mixie jar. In the same pan, heat a tsp of oil & add Garlic. Add onions & tomatoes & fry until they are well cooked. Allow it to cool a bit. transfer into the mixie jar & grind into a smooth paste along with ginger. Do not add any water.

In a Pressure cooker, heat Ghee. Add bay leaves. Now add sliced onions & fry till they turn pink. Now add the ground paste & give it a mix. Fry for a couple of minutes.

Now add all the vegetables one by one. Add Garam Masala, turmeric powder & mix well. Drain Basmati rice & add.

Now, add about 1 1/2 cups of water & add the salt. mix well with the spatula. Pressure cook for 1 whistle

Once the pressure drops, allow it to cool & bit. Add lime juice & garnish with coriander before serving. Fluff gently with a fork to avoid breakage.

Serve with slices of Onion & diced cucumber & a Raita of your choice.

NOTE:

Use good quality Basmati Rice. There are many brands available. I mostly use Daawat

You can make your own Biryani spice mix by dry roasting & powdering all the dry ingredients mentioned in the list. Store it in an airtight jar for later use.

Not everyone loves a lot of spices in their Biryani. Reduce the amount of spices, if its not your liking