Hyderabadi Veg Dum Biryani

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of Hyderabad (The city of nawabs) is Charminar and of course Dum Biryani.The First time i ever tasted biryani was in my high school when my parents were out of town and my brother got bawarchi biryani parceled for weekend luncheon ..mmm it tasted out of the world.I used to think that "Tastey food"  always comes with "Difficult " preparation method but its not so  ..I dont say its simple however , it needs some time and  patience for sure.Trust me all that is worth  when i see my hubby enjoying the dish :) .I never knew it could be made at home but thanks to my friend sowji (mommyscuisine) who introduced me to this wonderful mouthwatering delicacy ,here goes the recipe for hyderabadi veg dum biryani which i tweaked a little bit .. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

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For the Marinade:

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3 medium sized Potatoes diced into cubes and deep fried in oil till golden brown(see pics)

2 large Carrots diced into cubes
3/4 Cup Frozen Peas (thawed)

2 large Onions finely sliced and deep fried in oil till dark brown (see the pic)

1/2 Cauliflower spilt into small florets and deep fried in Oil

2 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste

10 springs of Mint Leaves Finely chopped

3/4 Cup yoghurt

2 tbsp chilli poweder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

 2 tbsps garam masala (lightly roasted in a pan on low heat for 30 secs)

1/4 Cup Oil ( Use fresh oil .. do not use the leftover oil after frying)

1/2 tsp Salt

For Basmati Rice:

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2 cups Basmati rice  soaked in cold water for 30 mins (or an hour if you have time)

4 Green Cardamom
3 Cloves
¾ tsp shahi jeera (black cumin seeds)
2 Bay leaves
4 Black pepper corns
1 tbsp Butter/oil/ghee
4 tbsps Salt
10 cups of water for boiling
wide & deep sauce pan to cook rice

Preparation:
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Now all set for the preparation....
Take a deep sauce pan with Oil and deep fry potatoes till they turn golden brown and spread them on the tissue as shown in the pic .

Once the potatoes are done deep fry  cauliflower florets , diced carrots separately and spread them on the tissue and set aside. Now in the last deep fry the sliced Onions to dark brown color as shown in the picture.

 

Marinating the Veggies :

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Take  large bowl , mix all the marinade ingredients till well combined. Cover and let it rest for an hour or overnight if you have time, so that the veggies absorb all the flavour of the spices.

For Cooking the Basmati Rice :

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While the veggies are marinating , heat 10 cups of water in a wide bottemed pan and  bring it to boil. Once the water is boiling throw the spices and cook for a minute, add the drained basmati rice gently to the water and cook the rice on a high flame for about 4 mins. Immediately drain the rice along with the spices and keep it aside.

 

Now time is for the preparation of  dum . For this we have to arrange the marinade and rice into layers.For this heat a wide bottmed nonstick vessel for a minute till its hot , now arrange the marinated vegetables in the vessel , this is the first layer. Now add half cooked basmati rice on top of it  as shown,  its the second layer.

On top of rice add 2 tbsp of oil  , Cover pot with a lid and cook for 3-4 mins on a high flame ( do not cook for more than 4 mins as the marinade might get burned.) Remove the lid and add the red/ orange color to the rice ( to make the color , mix a pinch of food color with 2 tbsp of water) .

Meanwhile heat a dosa pan/flat bottomed skillet on high flame till the pan is hot. Once hot reduce the flame to the lowest setting and place the rice pot on the tava.

Now seal the pot with an alluminium foil or  using the traditional whole wheat dough method. Cook for 30 mts undisturbed on the tava on the lowest setting. Switch off the flame and let it rest for 10 mts.

Serve hot with Mirchi ka salan or Onion Raita .