Vegetable Biryani - Restaurant style

My dear friend perfected her recipe for vegetable biryani that tasted almost like the Coimbatore Annapoorna vegetable biryani that we all love to have. I have been following the recipe many many times from when she blogged the recipe. I have made slight changes to her original recipe. If you follow the recipe word to word, either her recipe or mine, you are sure to enjoy a plate of delicious and spicy vegetable biryani. Here is the recipe for my version of biryani.

Ingredients:

2 cups basmathi rice

3 cups water

1 large onion chopped

2 tomatoes quartered

handful of chopped fresh mint

3 cups of mixed vegetables (carrot, beans, peas and cauliflower)

1 cup yogurt

3 (full)cinnamons

3 bay leaves

2 black cardamom

oil for seasoning

cumin powder - 4 tsp

coriander / dhania powder - 8 tsp

turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon

red chilli powder - 2 tsp

salt as required ( almost 1 and half tablespoons)

grind the following using very little water:

5 cloves garlic

half inch ginger chopped

5 green chillies

5 cloves

for garnishing,

ghee roasted cashews

4 slices regular white bread - toasted and cut into pieces

Method:

Soak rice in three cups water and keep it aside.

Take a heavy bottomed wide non stick kadai that has a lid. ( I used a 5 quart kadai that has a glass lid)

Heat a tablespoon oil and add cinnamon, bay leaf and black cardamom

Remember that the entire cooking process is done in medium heat.

After a minute in medium heat, toss in the chopped onions and saute until the onion is soft.

Add the ground spice mix and mix well.

Then add the quartered tomatoes and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the mixed vegetables and salt.

Toss the vegetables for a couple of minutes and pour the yogurt/curd.

Now, boil the water that was used to soak rice, separately.

When the content heats up, add the cumin powder, dhania powder, red chilli powder and turmeric powder and mix well.

When most of the moisture is absorbed, add the soaked rice and the boiling water and mix well.

Cook the content closed for about 10 minutes. Enjoy the aroma that fills the room.

Open and mix in the chopped fresh mint when the rice is half cooked and again close the container.

The rice and the vegetables will be well cooked by the time all the moisture is absorbed. It will take about 5 to 10 minutes. If you have doubt that it is burning in the bottom, stir the content occasionally and remember to close it every time.

When all the moisture is absorbed and the rice is also well cooked, turn off heat and garnish with ghee fried cashews and pieces of toasted white bread. Adding chopped coriander leaves is optional.

Enjoy the piping hot vegetable biryani with onion raita.