Sunday 2 November 2014

Hyderabadi Style Lunch menu - Vegetable Dum Biriyani and Khubani Ka Meetha



Traditional Hyderabadi Biriyani is prepared in a authentic way of slow cooking by sealing the pressure or dum. I have seen dum biriyani preparations only on television programs. I have not tasted it too! So I never thought about preparing a dum biriyani at home. 
Recently, after the festive season, there were lots of dry fruits at home. So I was hunting for a recipe with dried apricots and came across Khubani Ka Meetha in vegrecipesofindia. That's when I was hooked on to various vegetarian dishes from Hyderabad cuisine. Along with the dessert, I prepared this biriyani and it was a complete meal and a special one for a Sunday! The recipe might look quite long but do not panick, with proper planning and getting the ingredients ready, the process will be very simple. Try it out and do let me know how it turned out.

Recipe Source: vegrecipesofindia

INGREDIENTS:


For the rice:
  • Basmathi Rice - 1 cup
  • Green cardamoms - 2
  • Black cardamoms - 2
  • Cloves - 2
  • Cinnamon stick - 1/2" stick
  • Bay leaf - 1
  • Water - 1.75 to 2 cups
  • Salt - as needed


For the vegetable gravy layer:
  • Oil - 1.5 tablespoons
  • Ghee - 1.5 tablespoons
  • Shah jeera(Caraway seeds) - 1 teaspoon
  • Green cardamoms - 2
  • Black cardamoms - 2
  • Cloves - 2
  • Cinnamon stick - 1/2" stick
  • Bay leaf - 1
  • Onion - 1 big, finely chopped
  • Green chilli - 1, slit
  • Ginger - 2 tablespoons, grated
  • Garlic - 1 tablespoon, finely chopped
  • Cauliflower florets - 1/2 cup
  • Carrot - 1 medium sized, diced
  • Potato - 1, diced
  • French beans - 6 - 8, chopped
  • Peas - 1/2 cup
  • Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
  • Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
  • Whisked curds/yogurt - 1/2 cup
  • Cashew nuts - 5
  • Raisins - 1 teaspoon
  • Almonds - 5 , blanched, peeled and sliced
  • Salt - as needed


For Layering:
  • Warm milk - 1 tablespoon
  • Saffron strands - a few
  • Whisked Curd/yogurt - 1/2 cup
  • Mint leaves - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
  • Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
  • Rose water - a few drops


METHOD:
  1. Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes
  2. Add soaked rice, spices, salt, water and cook the rice on stove top or pressure cooker or microwave till it is almost cooked. Fluff it up gently with a fork and keep aside
  3. Take a deep pressure pan or any aluminium pan in the shape of handi/clay pot. (I did not have such a pan, so used a deep pan). Heat ghee and oil
  4. Add the spices - cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves and fry till they crackle
  5. Now add onions and fry well till they are golden brown
  6. Add green chilli, ginger and garlic. Saute for a minute and add turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Stir the mixture
  7. Add the vegetables and fry them for a minute, add the curd and mix well
  8. Add 3/4 cup of water, salt and cook till the vegetables are boiled
  9. Add in the dry fruits - raisins, almonds and cashew nuts to the gravy
  10. To the warm milk, add saffron strands and allow it to cool. Add this to whisked curds and mix well
  11. In the pan that has the vegetable gravy, add half of the saffron flavored curd and sprinkle some mint and coriander leaves
  12. Spread half of the rice and sprinkle remaining saffron-curd mixture. Sprinkle the remaining mint and coriander leaves
  13. Spread the remaining rice on top and add a few drops of rose water 
  14. Cover the pan with a moist cloth, place a lid on top and keep a heavy weight so that the pressure does not escape 
  15. Cook on low flame for 20 minutes. If you are worried the the bottom layer might get burnt, then place a tawa on the stove and keep the pan on top of the tawa after 15 minutes
  16. While serving, make sure to serve all the layers together. Serve hot with any raita of your choice (I made a simple pomegranate raita - See Notes), pickle and pappad



Try out a perfect dessert to end this biriyani meal - Khubani Ka Meetha


Notes:
  • For pomegranate raita - whisk curds and add roasted cumin powder, red chilli powder, salt, chaat masala (optional), mint and mix well. Finally add the pomegranate and garnish with coriander leaves. Refrigerate and serve chilled

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