Pretty recently I realized that one of the favorite main course dish of vegetarians- the Vegetable Biryani !!. Here is it, Veg Dum Biryani enriched with Paneer and crispy fried bread pieces. This one course meal is a perfect choice for family gatherings and even for kids lunch boxes …

Ingredients

For rice: –

1. Basmati rice      : 3 Cup
2. Chopped Onion : ½ of small onion
3. Ginger –garlic paste : 1 ½ T- Sp
4. Ghee /oil             : 2 Tbl- Sp
5. Mint leaves        : 15
6. Whole garam masala (cardamom 2, cinnamon 1, cinnamon 2, bay leaves 2)
7. Coconut milk    : ½ Cup
8. Water                   : 3 ½ Cup
9. Salt for taste

For masala: –

1. Chopped onion    : 1 (small)
2. Chopped tomato : 1 (medium)
3. Green chilly          : 3
4. Mixed veg             : 1 ½  Cup (potato, carrot, beans)
5. Paneer                    : 1 ½  Cup
6. Chopped mint     : 15 leaves
7. Ginger-garlic paste : 1 Tbl- Sp
8. Vinegar                 : 1 T- Sp
9. Chilli powder      : 1 Tbl- Sp
10. Turmeric powder : ¼ t-Sp
11. Garam masala   : ½ T- Sp
12. Coconut milk(thin) : 1 Cup
13. Thick coconut milk : ½ Cup
14. Salt for taste
15. Ghee/oil             : 1 ½ Tbl- Sp(Adjust)

For seasoning:-

1. Thinly sliced onion : 1 (medium)
2. Cashews : 15
3. Raisins    : 20
4. Bread slices : 2
5. Ghee/oil for frying
6. Ghee for sprinkling

Method

• Wash and soak the rice for about 15 minutes.
• Heat oil/ghee in a pressure cooker and add the whole masala, fry it for about 20 seconds.
• Then add the onion along with ginger along with garlic paste and sauté the onion till translucent.
• Add the mint leaves and sauté it.
• Dilute the coconut milk with water and add this to the pressure cooker.
• Add the rice and salt; mix it.
• Close the lid and wait for 1 whistle, then reduce the flame to low and wait for another 1 minute. (this extra 1 minute needed only for gas stove). If you are using coil stove top, only 1 whistle needed, after that switch off the stove and keep it in the stove itself.
• After the pressure releases, open the cooker and transfer the rice into a wide plate /tray.

Masala:-

• Now heat oil/ghee in a pan and sauté the onion along with ginger-garlic and green chilli, till onions became brown.
• Add the tomatoes, sauté it until smashed well.
• Add the chilli powder and turmeric powder; fry it for a minute.
• Add the vegetables along with salt and stir it.
• Add the thin coconut milk and close the lid and cook it. Stir it in between to avoid sticking in the pan.
• Now add the mint leaves along with paneer pieces and vinegar, close the lid and cook it for another 3-4 minutes.
• If there is any excess water, dry it off to make a thick masala.
• Finally add the thick coconut milk and mix it. Take it out and keep it aside.

For dum:-

• Spread oil in an oven safe dish/tray and put one layer of rice, and after that one layer of masala.
• Sprinkle some ghee on top of the masala and spread another.
• Repeat this for another layer of masala and rice.
• On the top a layer of rice, spread the fried onion, cashews and raisins along with some chopped mint leaves.
• Sprinkle ghee and cover tray tightly with aluminum foil/tray cover.
• Preheat the oven into 400 degree Fahrenheit and bake it for about 25 minutes.
• Add the fried bread pieces on top at the time of serving the biriyani.

Tips :

• Before adding to the masala keep the paneer pieces in hot water, it will help the paneer to be soft.
• I soaked the rice for about 15 minutes. so I needed total 4 cups of water including coconut milk. The water quantity may vary each rice. Typical ratio is 1 cup rice =1.5 cup of water.
• Can adjust the quantity of vegitable and paneer.
• Spreading the rice in a wide plate/tray is very important, it will make the rice non-sticky.
• The number of layering of rice/masala is personal choice. First and last layer should be rice.
• Sprinkling the ghee will give the biriyani, more taste and aroma.
• I chopped the bread into small pieces for frying.