Biryani

Hello all. Anyone there? It has been 3 months since I wrote anything here. Well, I joined a company 2 months back and have been juggling work and home, so was a bit crunched for time. So what’s cooking at your front?

Today, I am back with a recipe for biryani which I found on net and have tried it quite many times. It is easy to make and doesn’t take much time either. No, it is not the traditional way to make biryani, but just a simple way. There is another biryani recipe which I used to follow earlier, but it required much more preparation. I would try to post that as well, but some other time. For now, it’s the cooker biryani J

Ingredients:

Basmati rice – 1 cup
Onion – 1
Green chilli - 2
Ginger - garlic paste - 2 ½ tsp
Tomato -1
Mixed Vegetables (carrot, capsicum, peas, sweet corn)- 2 cups
Mint / pudina leaves – handful
Coriander leaves – handful
Lemon juice -1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Red chilli powder -1 tsp
Coriander powder – 2 tsp
Biriyani masala – 2 tsp (I use Everest Biryani Masala)
Salt as required

Seasoning:
Oil – 1 tbsp
Whole garam masala – ( cloves - 3, cardamom -1, cinnamon – 1 inch piece)

Garnishing :
1. Cut onions into thin strips and fry it in oil till golden brown. Add it before serving.

2.    Split cashew nuts in small pieces. Fry them till light brown and use for garnishing.

Preparations:
1. Cut carrots, capsicum lengthwise. Chop tomatoes. Soak frozen peas and corn in water. If you are using fresh corn and peas, then just wash them and keep aside.

2. Wash and soak basmati (long-grained) rice for 20 minutes, drain and keep it aside.

3. If you do not have ginger-garlic paste with you, then grind 1 inch piece of ginger and 5-6 cloves of garlic together.

4. Heat oil, add whole garam masala, then add onions and sauté till it turns transparent.
5. Now add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a few more minutes.

6. Add green chillies, all the vegetables, chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, biryani masala, mint and coriander leaves, needed salt and sauté for some more time. Then add 2 cups of boiling water, drained rice and lemon juice.

7. Transfer all the contents to a rice cooker and switch on the cooking mode. Keep it on medium mode and cook for around 15-20 minutes. Be careful that it doesn’t get burnt.

8. Once done, mix it gently, garnish with fried onions and cashew nuts and serve hot with raitha or papads.

Enjoy the hot and steaming biryani !! :)