Serves 2-3

Ingredients

1 large onion
3 tbsp cashews and almonds
4 tbsp oil/ ghee
The Vegetable layer:
2 cups chopped vegetables (potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, beans, peas, I even like to add soya nuggets, paneer or mushrooms sometimes. For an exotic twist, you could even use broccoli and asparagus)
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp oil
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
Curry:
1 cup curd / yogurt, thick and fresh
1 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp biryani masala
½ tsp fennel, crushed
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp salt
The Assembly:
3 tbsp oil / ghee
1 bay leaf
1 star anise
3 cardamom / elaichi
1 inch cinnamon stick
4 cloves
1 ½ cup basmati rice, soaked
A few strands of saffron soaked in water for a few min
2 tbsp raisins
A handful of chopped mint and coriander leaves
1½ cup water

Method

• Slice the onions and fry it in ghee or oil on low heat until it is caramelized and dark brown. Set aside.
• Fry the cashews and almonds in the same pan and set aside.
• Fry the vegetables in the same pan for 2 minutes and set aside.
• Combine the curds with chili powder, turmeric powder, biryani masala powder, fennel powder, ginger-garlic paste and salt and mix well.

Putting it all Together

• In a pressure cooker, heat 3tbsp of ghee/ oil.
• Add the spices: bay leaf, star anise, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.
• Add the curd mixture.
• Add the vegetables and fried nuts
• Now spread the soaked rice on top of this and add saffron water.
• Sprinkle the raisins, mint-coriander leaves and the fried onions
• after that, sprinkle half of the fried onions / barista.
• Add 1½ cup water.
• Pressure cook for 2 whistles.
• Serve garnished with the remaining fried onions, along with a raita or mirchi ka salan.

Notes:

• I love to serve it along with a boiled egg but that’s just a personal preference. You can even substitute the vegetables in the recipe with boiled eggs and potatoes for a nice egg biryani.
• If you are cooking without a pressure cooker, half-cook the rice first and then follow the same process, cover with a lid and let it cook until done, about 10 minutes depending on the rice.
• I often use a lot more vegetables and might also use different rice, in which case the quantity of water needed will be more

Making your own Biryani Masala

• Dry roast 3 dried red chilies and 7 bay leaves (tej patta) until crispy.
• Separately, dry roast 2 tbsp coriander (dhania) seeds, 1 tbsp cumin (jeera) and 1 tbsp caraway seeds (kala jeera) until fragrant.
• Dry roast 3 mace (javithri), 2 inch cinnamon stick, 1 nutmeg (jayfal), 1 tsp cloves, 3 black cardamom, 3 star anise, 10 cardamom, 1 tbsp pepper and 1 tsp fennel / saunf.
• Once completely cool, add ½ tsp turmeric and blend to fine powder
  Store in an airtight container.

Raita

The easiest, simplest accompaniment to this dish is a raita. You can make this by mixing slightly beaten curds/ yogurt with chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, green chilies, coriander leaves and salt.

You can use all the above vegetables or even just one of them to make a raita, and the cucumber can also be grated if it is being used alone.

Some people like to add red chili powder and cumin powder to this but I prefer it plain. Leave the raita in the refrigerator for a little while so the juices flow into the curds. Serve chilled.