Delicious Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani

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A vegetable biryani recipe from the land of the Nawabs – Hyderabad.

The Hyderabadi veg biryani recipeis
light, aromatic and deliciously yum.

This is the most popular veg biryani recipe in the blog, tried and tested by many readers. Another popular vegetable biryani recipe on the blog is restaurant style vegetable dum biryani.



The biryanis which I have seen my mom making at home have always been cooked on dum. When I saw on the internet, that food bloggers have recipes for pressure cooked biryanis, I was amazed as well as shocked. How can one cook a biryani in a pressure cooker.


Prep time  45 mins
Cook time 45 mins
Total time  1 hour 30 mins



Ingredients

The Rice:
  • 1 and half cup basmati rice
  • 2 green cardamoms
  • 2 black cardamoms
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon of 1 inch
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 mace strands
  • 3 cups water
  • salt
The Vegetable Gravy:
  • ½ medium sized cauliflower, florets removed
  • 1 medium sized carrot, diced
  • 1 medium sized potato, cubed
  • 1 cup of chopped french beans
  • ½ cup frozen/fresh peas
  • 1 and half onion, finely sliced
  • 1 green chili, slit
  • 2 tbsp julienned ginger
  • 1 tbsp chopped garlic
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds/shah jeera
  • 2 green cardamom
  • 2 black cardamoms
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon of 1 inch
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 mace strands
  • 100 gms whisked curd
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp red chili powder/cayenne pepper
  • 2 tbsp cashew nuts
  • 1 tbsp sultanas/raisins
  • 2 tbsp almonds, blanched, peeled and sliced
  • 3 tbsp ghee
  • salt
Herbs and Spices for the assembling:
  • ½ cup chopped coriander/cilantro leaves
  • ½ cup mint leaves
  • 100 gms whisked curd
  • a few saffron strands
  • 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
  1. Pick and clean the rice in running water. Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes.
  2. Now you can microwave or pressure cook the rice. You have to cook the rice till its ¾th done. The rice should not be fully cooked but almost cooked.
  3. In a pressure cooker or a microwave cooker, add the per-soaked rice, all the spices mentioned above, salt. Cook till the rice till is almost done. I microwaved the rice and cooked it for 9 minutes at full power. Fluff the rice and keep it separate.
  4. Traditionally biryani were made in clay pots, known as handis. If you have a clay pot, you could use it. I did not have a clay pot or handi. But I have a pressure cooker shaped like a handi, so I used it. If you have a handi shaped pot made up of aluminum, you could use it also.
  5. Pick and clean the rice in running water. Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes.
  6. Now you can microwave or pressure cook the rice. You have to cook the rice till its ¾th done. The rice should not be fully cooked but almost cooked.
  7. In a pressure cooker or a microwave cooker, add the per-soaked rice, all the spices mentioned above, salt. Cook till the rice till is almost done. I microwaved the rice and cooked it for 9 minutes at full power. Fluff the rice and keep it separate.
  8. Traditionally biryani were made in clay pots, known as handis. If you have a clay pot, you could use it. I did not have a clay pot or handi. But I have a pressure cooker shaped like a handi, so I used it. If you have a handi shaped pot made up of aluminum, you could use it also.