Easy Vegetable Biryani

While there’s nothing better than a fresh herbs and spices using as a biryani ingredients, a good biryani mix can take it place when you have no time to cook.There are good biryani mix available in the market.They can still use some doctoring. Here are few tricks I use to turn a biryani mix into something that’s just a little bit more interesting.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Vegetable (Carrots,Beans,Peas,Broad bean,Soy chunks) – can use frozen vegetables
• 1 cup Onion, cut lengthwise
• 1/2 cup Tomato ,finely chopped or crushed (or) 1/4 cup canned, Tomato paste
• 1(3.5 oz) packet of Biryani mix/powder
• 1 tsp. Ginger Garlic paste
• 2 cups Basmati rice
• 3 Tbsp. Oil
• 2 Tbsp. Clarified Butter/Ghee
• 1/2 cup Yogurt/curd dilute with water to make 1 cup
• 21/2 cups Water
• 3 nos Bay leaf
• 2 nos Cinnamon
• 5 nos Cloves
• 3 nos Cardamoms
• 10 nos Cashew nuts
• 2 1/2 tsp. Salt or to taste
• 6 stks Coriander leaves, chopped for garnishing

Method

• Heat pan with 1 tsp oil add 2 cups of basmati rice;sauté till the aroma comes;keep them aside.
• In a heavy deep pan heat oil and ghee together; add bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, cashew nuts; fry for 30 secs;add onions while sauté them.
• When onions turn slightly brown and crispy add ginger garlic paste, tomatoes fry for a minute.
• Add biryani mix/powder and stir continuously, note do not allow the ingredients to stick in the vessel.if so, immediately add diluted 1 cup of yogurt. then add vegetables.
• Sauté everything until it thicken to a gravy consistency;cook for 3 to 4 min.
• While the gravy is still simmering, add 2 cups of basmati rice.
• Add the gravy to the rice along with 21/2 cups of water add salt; mix well.
• Check for salt; cook them in a rice cooker.
• If using a regular pressure cooker allow 1 whistle (for electric stove)/2 whistles(for gas stove); switch off.
• Garnish with coriander leaves; mix carefully without breaking the rice.

Note:
If you have separately cooked rice,prepare a gravy with vegetables from above method; mix with rice;garnish with coriander.