Hyderabadi Veg Biryani Recipe-Nawabi Veg biryani-Sunday Lunch Recipes 15

• Basmati rice – 1 cup ( I used India Gate)
• Water – 4 cups
• Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, black stone flower – each 2 nos
• Salt – as needed
• Ghee – 1 tbsp

For Marination

• Carrot – 1 no
• Potato – 1 no
• Cinnamon – 1 small piece
• Cardamom – 1 nos
• Cloves – 2 nos
• Green chilli – 1 no ( Slitted, I din’t use)
• Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp ( I used 8 garlic loves and 1.5 inch ginger)
• Red chilli powder – 3/4 tsp to 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp
• Salt – as needed
• Curd – 3 tbsp ( semi solid)
• Lemon juice – 1/2 tbsp
• Finely chopped mint+coriander leaves – a handful
• Cooking oil – 3 tbsp ( Oil in which onions were fried)
• Fried onions – 1 no ( sliced)

For toppings

• Saffron soaked milk – 2 tbsp
• Mint + coriander leaves – 2 tbsp
• Fried onions – 1/2 no

• Wash and soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Wash and peel the skin of potato and carrot. Cut them into small cubes ( I chopped like the way served in Hyderabad biryani house). Set aside.  Slice onions. Soak Saffron threads in milk.
• Heat oil and deep fry the onion slices. Fry till golden brown and remove in a plate. Do not burn them, Just fry carefully in medium flame. Remove half of the roasted onions and reserve it for garnishing.

• In a non-stick kadai, take the chopped veggies. Add  cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, Curd, Garam masala powder, Salt, half the fried onions, Lemon juice, Oil in which onions were fried, finely chopped mint + coriander leaves, mix well and check for taste. Let this mixture marinate for 30-45 minutes.
• In the mean time, boil 4 cups of water in a wide bowl and add the drained, soaked basmati rice. In the water, add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, black stone flower, Bay leaf, 1 tbsp of ghee along with half the salt for rice.( Add salt carefully because we have added salt in veggie masala too)

• Let the rice cook in medium flame for 20 minutes. By now rice will be cooked to 80%. Check whether the rice breaks but it should be firm in shape. Remove the rice alone and keep the water. Do not discard it.

• Now layer the rice over the marinated masala mixture. Add the reserved rice cooked water all around the rice. I added around 5 tbsp of water. Please note the quantity of water may vary as per the water quantity retained in masala. So make sure you don’t add more water. It will make the rice mushy.

• Add the saffron soaked milk and finely chopped mint+coriander leaves. Close the kadai with a tight lid or plate so that steam do not escape. Keep a weight over the plate. I kept a bowl with water. U can even place a stone if any.

• Switch on the flame and turn it to very low. Let the biryani cook in very low flame for 20-25 minutes. No need to open in the middle. But make sure you don’t get burning smell. Your house will be completely covered with an awesome aroma of biryani when its cooked. Now remove the plate and fluff the rice with fork.
• Garnish with the remaining fried onions and serve hot.

Enjoy with raita and brinjal gravy!

• Add more red chilli powder for extra spicy taste. But we felt 1 tsp is enough and it was spicy too.
• If you want to make this biryani for around 10 people, you can use 3 cups of rice and just increase the spices ( use 2.5 times quantity mentioned above). Check for taste and add more chilli powder, garam masala accordingly. I have not tried these measures. I am just giving with a rough calculation as one of my friends suggested me to add this point in all my biryani posts which would be helpful for people making biryani for parties and get together.