Vegetable Biryani

Steps on How To Make Vegetable Biryani
Ingredients

• 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
• Cubed Paneer pieces 
• 1 and half onion, finely sliced
• 1 green chili, slit
• 2 tbsp julienned ginger
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 tsp caraway seeds/shah jeera
• 8 green cardamom
• 2 black cardamoms
• 10 cloves
• 1 cinnamon of 1 inch
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 mace strands
• 100 gm whisked curd

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. Add all whole garam masala: cardamoms, mace, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves. Fry the garam masala
6. Heat ghee in the handi.
7. till they crackle.
8. Now add the onions. Fry the onions till golden brown.
9. Add the green chilli, ginger and garlic. Fry for a minute.
10. Add the turmeric and red chili powder.
11. Give the mixture a stir.
12. Now add the vegetables and stir for a minute.
13. Add the curd/yoghurt.
14. If using a pressure cooker for cooking the veggies, then cover the cooker with a lid and pressure cook for 2 minutes.
15. Stir and then add ¾ cup water plus salt. Stir the mixture well.
16. If not using a pressure cooker, then bring the entire vegetable mixture to a boil. Then simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Add the dry fruits – almonds, raisins and cashew nuts to the vegetable gravy.
17. Check the salt. Add more if required.
18. Warm the milk. Add saffron to it. Let this saffron-milk mixture cool. Add the curd to this mixture and mix well.
19. In the same handi with the cooked vegetables, sprinkle half each of saffron-flavored curd/yoghurt, mint and coriander leaves.
20. Now spread half of the rice.
21. Sprinkle the remaining saffron-flavored curd/yoghurt, mint and coriander leaves.
22. Spread the remaining rice.
23. Sprinkle rose water. This is optional and you could skip it.
24. Place a moist cloth on top.
25. Cover with a lid.
26. Then seal with wheat flour dough or keep a heavy weight on the lid.