Recipes

Veg Biryani | Veg Dum Biryani Recipe

Published

3 years ago

September 19, 2022

Diaspora

Prep Time : 45 mins

Cook Time : 45 mins

Total Time : 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

For soaking rice

1.5 cups basmati rice – 300 grams, preferably aged basmati rice
1 cup water for soaking rice

Veggies and herbs

1.5 cups cauliflower florets – 150 grams
1 cup chopped potatoes – 100 grams or 2 medium-sized
½ cup chopped carrots – 100 grams or 1 medium to large carrot
¼ cup chopped french beans – 50 grams or 11 to 12 french beans
8 to 10 white button mushrooms sliced or chopped, (optional)
¼ to ⅓ cup chopped bell pepper – 50 grams or 1 small to medium (optional)
½ cup green peas – fresh or frozen
1 cup thinly sliced onions (heaped) – 115 grams onion or 1 large onion
1.5 tablespoons finely chopped ginger – 10 grams or 2 pieces of 2 inch ginger or 1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic – 5 grams or 10 to 12 medium garlic cloves or ½ tablespoon garlic paste
2 green chilies – slit or sliced

For cooking rice

3 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
3 cloves
1 inch cinnamon
1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
2 single mace strands
5 cups water
1 teaspoon salt or add as per taste

For biryani curry/gravy

3 tablespoons Ghee (clarified butter) – use 3 tablespoons oil instead
1 teaspoon shah jeera (caraway seeds)
1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
3 green cardamoms
1 black cardamon
1 inch cinnamon
1 cup Curd (yogurt), whisked – 200 grams
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder or cayenne pepper or paprika
½ cup water for pressure cooking and ¾ cup water for cooking in a pan
2 tablespoons cashews
1 tablespoons raisins (without seeds)
2 tablespoons almonds – raw or blanched, peeled and sliced
salt as required

For assembling and layering

⅓ cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) – 20 grams
⅓ cup chopped mint leaves – 5 grams
4 to 5 tablespoons milk
¼ teaspoon saffron strands
2 teaspoons kewra water (pandanus water) or rose water

Instructions

Soaking rice

Pick and rinse basmati rice in running water till the water runs clear of starch. Soak the rice in 1 cup of water for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes drain the rice and set aside.
When the rice is soaking prep all the veggies and other ingredients. Set aside.

Cooking rice

Take a deep bottomed pan. Add water and heat the water on a high flame.
When the water becomes hot, add the salt and following spices: tej patta, green cardamoms, cloves, black cardamom, cinnamon, strands of mace.
Bring the water to a boil. Then add the soaked basmati rice.
Just gently stir with a spoon or fork, after you add the soaked rice.
Do not reduce the flame and continue to cook the rice grains.
The rice has to be ¾ᵗʰ cooked. The grains should have a slight bite to them when cooked. The rice should not be fully cooked.
Drain the rice in a colander. Gently fluff and keep aside.

Making vegetable curry/gravy

In a 2-litre pressure cooker or a pan, heat ghee. Add the following spices – shahjeera, tej patta, green cardamoms, cloves, black cardamom and cinnamon. Sauté the whole spices till they crackle.
Now add the onions. Stir and sauté them on a low to medium flame.
Add a pinch of salt to quicken the cooking process.
When the onions are cooking, take 1 cup fresh curd (yogurt) in a bowl and whisk the curd with a spoon or wired whisk till it become smooth.
Sauté the onions till they become golden brown or caramelize.
Then add the ginger-garlic paste and sliced green chillies. You can also finely chop the ginger-garlic and add.
Sauté till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
Add the turmeric and red chili powder. Stir and mix well.
Next add the chopped veggies. Sauté for a minute or two.
Lower the heat and add the whisked curd (yogurt). Stir and mix well as soon as you add the curd. Then add ½ cup water in the pressure cooker. For cooking in a pan, add ¾ cup water.
Season with salt and mix again.
Pressure cook for 1 whistle on 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat. If cooking in a pot, then cook until the vegetables are tender. Don’t over cook the vegetables.
Warm 4 to 5 tablespoons milk in a microwave or in a small pan on the stove top. Add ¼ teaspoon of saffron strands. Stir and keep aside.
When the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid and check the gravy.
If the vegetables are under cooked, then keep the cooker on the stove top and simmer the vegetable biryani gravy without the lid, till the vegetables are tender.
If there is too much of water or stock in the gravy, then simmer until some of the water evaporates and dries up. Note that the vegetable gravy should have a medium or slightly thick consistency and should not be watery.
Now add cashews, raisins and almonds (blanched or raw) to the vegetable gravy. Mix and stir. Set aside. Do a taste test and check the salt in the vegetable gravy. Add more if needed.

Assembling and layering

Now in a thick bottomed pan, layer half portion of the vegetable gravy first.
Then layer half portion of the semi-cooked rice.
Sprinkle half of the chopped coriander leaves (cilantro), mint leaves and saffron milk.
Layer the remaining vegetable gravy.
Layer the last portion of the rice. Sprinkle the remaining coriander leaves, mint leaves, and saffron infused milk on the top. Sprinkle rose water or kewra water.
You can make 2 layers or 4 layers like I have done. But do note that rice should be the top layer and the vegetable gravy should be the bottom layer.

Dum cooking

Now seal and secure the pot with an aluminium foil. Then cover with a lid. You can also seal the pan with a moist cotton cloth and then cover with a lid.
Take a tava/griddle/skillet and heat it on medium flame.
When the tawa become hot, then lower the flame. Keep the sealed veg biryani pan on the tawa.
Keep the flame to the lowest and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. You can dum cook hyderabadi veg biryani for the first 15 minutes on a direct low flame and then for the last 10 minutes, place the pan on the hot tawa/skillet and cook on a low heat.
Once done using a fork or spoon check the bottom layer of the biryani. There should be no liquids at the bottom. If there are liquids, then continue to dum cook for some more time.
After dum cooking, give a resting time of 5 to 7 minutes and later serve the hyderabadi veg biryani.

Serving Suggestions

While serving, make sure you equally serve the vegetables as well as the rice.
There are various sides that pair best with a veg biryani. Biryani is usually accompanied with a raita (yogurt dip). You can choose to pair it with Cucumber Raita, Onion Tomato Raita and Boondi Raita, or you could enjoy biryani with any savory raita of your liking.
You can also pair it with Kachumber Salad (onion-tomato salad), plain Curd (Yogurt), Mango Pickle, some lemon wedges or roasted papad.
The hyderabadi veg biryani is usually served with Mirchi ka Salan (Green Chilly Curry) and raita. If desired you can serve biryani with a simple soupy Shorba gravy.
You can also enjoy biryani as it is without any sides or accompaniments.

Storage

Store the biryani leftovers in your refrigerator for a day only. While reheating steam for 5 minutes in a pan or Instant pot. You could even lightly sauté the biryani stirring frequently in a frying pan or skillet until warm or hot.

Recipes

Vegetable Fried Rice Recipe

Published

1 year ago

October 1, 2024

Diaspora

Prep Time : 15 mins

Cook Time : 30 mins

Total Time : 45 mins

Ingredients

For cooking rice

1 cup basmati rice or long grained rice – 190 to 200 grams
4 to 4.5 cups water
½ teaspoon salt or add as required
2 to 3 drops toasted sesame oil or any neutral oil

Other ingredients

3 tablespoons oil – any neutral flavored oil
1 star anise
¾ to 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic or 3 to 4 small to medium garlic cloves
½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger or ½ inch ginger – optional
¼ cup chopped spring onion whites (scallions)
¼ cup finely chopped french beans
¼ cup finely chopped carrots
¼ to ½ cup finely chopped cabbage – optional
¼ cup chopped bell pepper or capsicum – red, green or yellow
1 cup chopped button mushrooms
1 tablespoon finely chopped celery – skip if you do not have
3 tablespoons soy sauce (naturally brewed) or tamari – can add as required
1 teaspoon rice wine or rice vinegar
½ teaspoon black pepper powder or add as required
2 tablespoons chopped spring onions greens
salt as required

Instructions

Cooking rice

Rinse rice very well till the water runs clear of starch. Soak rice in water for 30 mins. Drain and keep aside.
In a pot, bring water to a gentle boil with salt and 2 to 3 drops of toasted sesame oil.
Add the soaked and drained rice to the hot water.
On a low to medium to medium-high heat simmer rice without the lid.
When rice becomes al dente or just about cooked, remove the pot from the heat. Strain the rice in a colander or sieve.
You can also gently rinse cooked rice in water so that they stop cooking and don’t stick to each other. Cover the cooked rice and set aside until the rice cools completely. You can even refrigerate rice with a covered lid for 30 minutes.

Chopping veggies

When the cooked rice is cooling, chop the veggies finely and keep aside.
Remember to chop the french beans very finely. They take more time to cook than other veggies. You can also blanch them first and then cook. Another option is to add the beans first and then add the other vegetables.

Making fried rice

Heat oil in a wok or a pan. First add the star anise and fry for a few seconds or until the oil becomes fragrant.
Add the garlic, ginger and sauté for some seconds. No need to brown the garlic.
Add the spring onions whites and sauté for about 2 minutes.
Then add finely chopped french beans.
Stir fry french beans for 2 to 3 minutes over medium to medium-high heat.
Add the remaining finely chopped veggies, including mushrooms and celery. Increase the heat to a high to thoroughly cook all of the vegetables.
You have to continuously toss and stir while frying so that the veggies are uniformly cooked and do not get burnt.
The vegetables have to be stir-fried, until they are almost cooked and yet retain their crunchiness and crispiness. Stir-frying vegetables on high heat takes about 4 to 6 minutes.
Add the soy sauce, salt and pepper. Stir quickly and add cooked and cooled rice. Stir fry for a few minutes until the sauce has coated the rice well. Keep a check when adding salt, as soy sauce already has salt in it.
Serve the fried rice hot as it is or with with your favorite Chinese side.

Serving suggestions

Though fried rice tastes great on its own, you can pair it with Veg Manchurian, Gobi Manchurian, Chilli Paneer, Spring Rolls or Chilli Mushroom. More side recipes for veg fried rice are linked and listed in the main post.

Storing fried rice

Vegetable fried rice stays good for a couple of a days. But I would recommend it to be eaten as soon as you can since many days old rice is not good for health.

Recipes

Methi Matar Malai Recipe

Published

1 year ago

August 4, 2024

Diaspora

Prep Time : 10 mins

Cook Time : 20 mins

Total Time : 30 mins

Ingredients

For the paste

⅓ cup chopped onions or 1 medium-sized onion
¼ cup cashews – whole cashews
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon chopped garlic or 4 to 5 medium-sized garlic cloves
1 teaspoon chopped ginger or 1 inch ginger
1 teaspoon chopped green chilies or serrano peppers or 1 to 2 green chilies

Other ingredients

2 tablespoons oil or ghee
1 cup chopped fenugreek leaves (methi leaves)
½ cup water or the stock/water of boiled green peas – add as required
½ cup green peas – boiled or steamed
½ cup light cream or low-fat cream, check notes below for whipping or heavy cream
½ teaspoon sugar or add as required
salt as required

For garnish

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
1 to 2 tablespoons green peas boiled or steamed – optional

Instructions

Preparing the ground paste

In a grinder jar or blender, add cumin seeds, chopped onions, cashews, garlic, ginger and green chilies.
Blend or grind to a smooth paste withput adding any water.
If you are not able to blend, then you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
For cooking the green peas, you can either boil them in a pan with 1.5 cups water for 7 to 8 minutes until tender or steam them in an Instant pot for 3 to 5 minutes adding about 1 to 1.25 cups water in the steel insert.
You can also boil the green peas in a stove-top pressure cooker for 5 to 6 minutes. Reserve ½ cup of the cooked water if you have boiled the peas.

Sautéing ground paste

Heat ghee (clarified butter) or oil in a pan or kadai.
When the ghee melts or becomes lightly hot, add the ground paste.
Sauté the paste for 6 to 7 minutes on a low heat until you see the fat separating from the sides.
Stir often when sautéing so that the paste does not stick to the pan. You should see fat releasing from the sides and the paste will also have a nice aroma.
You will see the paste coming together and becoming glossy. Do not brown the paste.
If the ground paste sticks to the pan or gets browned add a few splashes of water. Mix, deglaze and continue to sauté.

Making methi matar malai

Add in the chopped fenugreek leaves and sauté further for 2 to 3 minutes.
Then add ½ cup water or the stock/water in which the green peas were cooked in two parts. Mix thoroughly and simmer the gravy for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir at intervals.
Add the boiled peas and cream.
Simmer the gravy for 5 to 6 minutes on a low heat.
Finally add the sugar and salt. Mix again. At this step, you can opt to sprinkle 2 to 3 pinches of garam masala powder.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve methi matar malai hot or warm with naan, paratha or roti.

Recipes

Rava Idli | Suji ki Idli

Published

2 years ago

May 28, 2024

Diaspora

Prep Time : 35 mins

Cook Time : 12 mins

Total Time : 47 mins

Ingredients

For frying & roasting

2 tablespoons Ghee (clarified butter)
14 halved cashews
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon chana dal (husked and split bengal gram or split & husked chickpeas)
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
10 curry leaves – chopped
1 pinch asafoetida – optional
1 teaspoon or 1 inch finely chopped ginger
1 green chilli – finely chopped

For batter

2 tablespoons finely grated carrots – optional
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
½ teaspoon salt or add as required
1 cup or 175 grams cup rava (sooji, semolina, cream of wheat)
½ cup Curd (yogurt)
½ to ¾ cup water or add as required
1 teaspoon eno (fruit salt) or ¼ teaspoon or 2 to 3 pinches of baking soda

Instructions

Frying & Roasting

Heat 2 tablespoons ghee in a pan. Keep the heat to low or medium-low. Add the halved cashews. Stirring often fry the cashews till golden. Remove fried cashews with a slotted spoon draining the ghee and keep aside.
To the same pan add mustard seeds and let them begin to splutter. Keep the heat to low or medium-low
When the mustard seeds begin to splutter add the chana dal. Stirring often fry chana dal till they look golden and crunchy. Then add the cumin seeds and fry for 4 to 5 seconds.
Now add the chopped curry leaves, asafoetida, finely chopped ginger and green chillies. Mix well and fry for 10 seconds. Keep the heat to a low.
Next add rava (cream of wheat, suji, semolina).
Mix well and stirring often roast the rava till they become aromatic, change color a bit (but should not get browned or golden) and the grains look separate. Roasting rava will takes about 5 to 7 minutes depending on the thickness and heaviness of the pan, and the flame intensity. Once the rava is well roasted, keep the pan aside. Let the rava become warm.

Making Batter

To the roasted rava, add 2 tablespoons finely grated carrots, 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves and ½ teaspoon salt or add as required.
Next add curd (yogurt) and water as required. Depending on the quality of rava and the thickness of curd, you can adjust the water from ½ to ¾ cup. If the curd is liquid and has whey in it, then add ½ cup water. If the curd is very thick, then add ¾ cup water. Basically you need to get a medium consistency batter.
Mix very well and let the batter rest covered for 20 minutes. The rava idli batter is neither thick nor thin in consistency and has a medium consistency.
Brush oil or ghee on the idli pan moulds. Place a fried halved cashew in the center of the moulds. Also heat 2 to 2.5 cups water in a pot. Keep a small length trivet stand or a rack in the pot. Heat the water till it comes to a boil.
After 20 minutes this is the consistency of the batter after resting. If in case the batter looks thick, rava idli batter looks thick, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to get a medium consistency. Rava absorbs water and so the batter might thicken after 20 minutes. If the curd is thick, then also you may need to add more water. If you have added more water in the beginning, then you may not need to any water at this step.
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon eno or ¼ teaspoon baking soda evenly over the batter. Quickly mix very well.

Steaming

Pour the batter in the idli moulds. Place them in the pot with the hot water. Cover with a lid and steam rava idli for 10 to 12 minutes.
To check the doneness, a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted in the rava idli should come out clean. Remove the idli plates carefully and let them rest for 3 to 4 minutes. Then with a spoon remove the rava idli.
Serve the steaming hot rava idli with sambar and your favorite coconut chutney.