Vegetable Biryani 

This biryani is something that I make for myself since I love it the most. Not the authentic type of biryani, but easy quick and delicious dish which can be made in a hurry when you have limited ingredients and unexpected  guests. A complete meal with vegetables and the salad which is made to go with it. I got to learn this from  Mr.Shabbir's Ammiji at Bengaluru where I ate it made by her. She gave amazing tips and I actually loved the way she taught me to make it, so simple and so delicious! Nothing like the old ways of cooking. 

Ingredients

2 cups of long grain basmati rice
1/2 cup peas
1/4 cup of carrots chopped crossways into medium pieces
!/4 cup french beans chopped crossways into medium pieces 
2 tspoons of ginger garlic paste
2 onions finely chopped
2 tomatoes finely chopped 
4 cloves
 1/2 an inch  of cinammon stick
1/2 tspoon of black pepper
1 tspoon of cumin seeds
1 tspoon of coriander seeds
2 tspoons of chilli powder, use kashmiri if you do not want the dish to be too hot
Juice of one lemon
1 tspoon of cumin seeds, 1/2 a small tspoon of turmeric powder and 2 tablespoons clarified butter for the tempering in which the rice will be made.


Method

First in a mixer jar take 1 finely chopped onion, 1 tomato finely chopped, cinammon stick, cloves, cumin seeds,, coriander seeds, pepper corns, chilli powder, lemon jiuce and grind into a fine paste. Keep this ready.

In a cooker take the clarified butter or ghee, add the cumin seeds wait till they splutter, add the turmeric powder, the ginger garlic paste, sautee well, add the onion, sautee till light brown, add the tomato, cook till it softens, add the ground paste, sautee till it leaves the sides of the cooker, add the rice, the vegetables and salt as per taste, stir and mix for a bit and then add 4 cups of water, cover and cook to two whistles. the rice should not be sticky, serve garnished with fresh coriander finely chopped. 

There are options for egglovers to spread pieces of boiled egg over the biryani while serving it or then top it with onions which are chopped into thin long pieces and fried.

The salad to go with it is called pachdi, it is made of thick yogurt, onions chopped into thin long pieces, finely chopped green chilli, salt, and fresh finely chopped coriander.




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