Veg Biryani

Ingredients:

For Cooking Rice:

• 1 cup Basmati rice
• 4 cups Water
• 2 Green cardamoms
• 2 Black cardamom
• 4 Cloves
• 4-5 Black peppercorns
• 1 inch Cinnamon stick
• 1 Bay leaf
• 2 strands Mace (Javitri)
• 1 Star anise
• Salt to taste

For Fried Onion & Nuts:

• 2-3 tablespoons Oil
• 3 tablespoons Cashew nuts
• 2 tablespoons Almonds chopped or sliced or whole
• 1 small or ½ cup Red onion sliced

For Veggies:

• 1-2 tablespoons Oil
• 2 Green cardamoms
• 4-5 Cloves
• 1 inch Cinnamon stick
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 1 ½ teaspoons Ginger paste or freshly grated or crushed
• 1 ½ teaspoons Garlic paste or freshly grated
• 2 Green chilies slit
• 1 medium or ¾ cup Red onion sliced
• 1 medium or ½ cup Carrot chopped
• 8-10 or ½ cup Green beans (French beans) cut into 1 inch pieces
• ½ cup Cauliflower (gobi) cut into florets
• ⅓ cup Capsicum (Green bell pepper) chopped, optional
• 1 medium or 3/4 cup Potatoes peeled and chopped
• ½ cup Green peas
• Salt to taste
• 2-3 teaspoons Red chili powder
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoons Coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon Garam masala or ready biryani masala
• 2 teaspoons Kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• 1 medium or about ½ cup Tomato pureed
• 1 tablespoon Cilantro or coriander leaves chopped finely
• 1 tablespoon Mint leaves chopped finely

For Layers:

• ⅓ cup Plain yogurt (dahi or curd)
• Saffron few strands
• 2-3 teaspoons Milk
• 1 teaspoon Rose water (Instead you can use kewra water too)
• 2 teaspoons Ghee (Clarified butter)
• 2-3 tablespoons Mint leaves roughly chopped

Instructions 

1. Wash the rice and soak for 20 minutes. After that discard the water.
2. While rice is soaking, prepare rest of the ingredients. Chop all the veggies and make tomato puree.
3. Keep ready the spices for vegetable gravy and also whole spices for cooking rice.
4. To cook rice, heat water in a pan on HIGH heat.
5. Once it starts rolling boiling, add whole spices mentioned under ‘cooking rice’, salt and rice.
6. Let it cook for exactly 5 minutes or till the rice is 80% cooked.
7. Drain this cooked rice and rinse under cold water. Let the excess water drain out completely for 5 minutes.
8. Then spread the rice on the large plate and pick the whole spices, discard. 
9. To fry nuts and onions, heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a pan on medium heat. 
10. Once hot add onion and Fry them till they are golden brown. Remove it to a paper towel-lined plate.
11. Now in the remaining same oil, fry the cashews and almonds till they are light brown in color.
12. Warm up the milk and add saffron strands in it. Now mix in yogurt and rose or kewra water. Keep it aside.
13. In the same pan heat 2-3 teaspoons of more oil. Add whole spices. Saute for a minute or so.
14. Now add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit.
15. Then saute in ginger paste, garlic paste and slit green chilies for a minute
16. Now add all the vegetables, tomato puree, salt, all the spice powders and mix.
17. Cover the pan and cook till veggies are 75% or ¾ th cooked.
18. Add chopped coriander and mint leaves. Mix well and keep it aside.
19. First, spread 2 teaspoons of ghee on the bottom of the pan.
20. The layers will be in following order – ⅓ part of rice, half of vegetable gravy, ⅓ part of rice, half or yogurt-saffron mixture, half of nuts and fried onions, rest of the vegetable gravy, rest of the rice, rest of saffron-yogurt mixture, nuts, fried onions, mint leaves.
21. Cover the pan with aluminium foil or with clean napkin and tight fitting lid.
22. To cook on stove top, Heat the tawa on medium heat. Once tawa is hot, LOWER the heat to low. Put the prepared biryani pan on tawa. And cook for 15-20 minutes.
23. To cook in the oven, bake for 15-18 minutes in 400 degrees F or 200 degrees C preheated oven.