Hyderabadi Veg Dum Biryani
Dum Biryani is a rice dish which is made with layers of aromatic rice like basmati rice, flavoured with various spices and a hero ingredient like mutton or chicken for the meat lovers and of course veggies for the vegetarians! It is a dish which is a wholesome and filling meal in itself.
If there is one Indian dish which brings everyone together, it would definitely be Biryani. For many, Biryani is not just a dish, it is an emotion.
At the same time, if there is one such dish which brings major controversy in conversations, I would say it is again Biryani! India is a vast country and each region has a variation of Biryani and trust me the taste and flavours, including the method of cooking. So when there are people from different regions sitting around the table, the debate is usually around which biryani is the best. Some claim Lucknow biryani is the best, for some it is Hyderabadi or Bengali or Malabari. I feel this would be a never ending debate.
Similarly the other intriguing debate or conversation between the vegetarians and non-vegetarian folks is about the Veg Biryani! As per the view of most of the non-vegetarian friends, there is nothing like a veg biryani and what the vegetarians eat as veg biryani is a veg pulav! While I agree that the biryani was traditionally originated as meat based dish and veg biryani is an adapted version using veggies, but I disagree to the opinion that a veg biryani and veg pulav are the same! The flavours and the cooking techniques of both these dishes are drastically different.
With no offense to anyone, I think people should accept the evolution and adaptability of dishes, which down the line would again become a tradition or convention! Another simple example is Samosa, which also was originally a meat based dish from Persia, but for Indians samosa is synonymous with the potato filling as that was our adaption of the idea of samosa!
Let’s get back to the dish after some gyan 🙂 Biryani got it’s identity during the Mughal era in the Indian sub-continent. There are theories which say that the dish was originated as a simple way of making a one-pot meal in large quantity for the soldiers which would be nutritious and filling. Also, the ‘dum’ style of cooking helps retain the flavours and aroma and also allows even and slow cooking. As I said earlier, there are numerous variations of the dum biryani across India, but this recipe is about Hyderabadi style dum biryani which is spicy and slightly fierce in flavours as compared to the Awadhi biryani.
Cooking dum biryani is definitely a time consuming process as there are numerous steps involved and we also need to be careful about the amount of time the rice is initially cooked, balance of flavours etc. But once you perfect this technique, you would never go back to cooking the biryani in a pressure cooker.
The rice is initially cooked along with the whole spices close to 75% and cooled down, which is a key step to get non-sticky biryani. In this recipe, large chunks of potatoes are deep fried and then marinated with spices in some yoghurt. Other veggies are cooked to form a gravy and then the parboiled rice is layered and topped with fresh mint and deep fired onions and saffron infused milk. It is then cooked on dum on a low flame for around 20 minutes.
Serving Suggestion
This biryani is a meal in itself and you could serve with just accompaniments like raita, salad or mirchi ka salan. A roasted papad on the side for the crunch tastes good too.
Let’s look at the detailed recipe for the Veg Dum Biryani.
Hyderabadi Veg Dum Biryani
Ingredients
- 2 cups Long grain Basmati Rice
- 4 large Potatoes
- 5 medium Onions
- 1 medium Tomato
- 3 Carrots
- 100 gms French Beans
- Corn Kernels from half of sweet corn
- ½ cup Green Peas
- 2 Green Chillies
- 1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- 3 tbsp Curd
- 3 Bay Leaves
- 4 Green Cardamom
- 4 Cloves
- 2 Marathi Moggu
- 3 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 2 tsp Biryani Masala
- 2 tsp Dhaniya or Coriander Powder
- ½ tsp Garam Masala
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- 4 tbsp Ghee
- Oil for deep frying
- ¼ cup Milk
- Pinch of Saffron
- ½ cup Mint Leaves
- 2 tbsp Chopped Coriander Leaves
Instructions
- Soak the basmati rice for a minimum of 20 minutes and then drain the water.
- In a large pan or kadai, boil around 3 cups of water and add all the whole spices like bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamon, cloves, marathi moggu and bring it to a boil. Add around 1.5 tablespoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of ghee and then the soaked rice and close the lid and let it cook on medium flame till all the water is absorbed. The rice should only be around 75% cooked. Transfer the cooked rice onto two large plates and spread well and let it cool completely.
- Wash and peel the potatoes and cut in large chunks. Deep fry in oil on high flame, till it is golden brown in colour. Drain on a tissue paper
- In a bowl, add 3 tablespoons curd, 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder, 1 teaspoon dhaniya powder, 1 teaspoon biryani masala, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala and salt to taste. Mix well.
- Add the fried potatoes to the curd marinade and mix well. Let the potatoes marinate for at least 15-20 minutes. You could also add some deep fried cauliflower if you like.
- Dice 3 to 4 onions finely length wise and deep fry in medium hot oil till golden brown. Keep stirring the onions in between so that they turn golden uniformly. Drain on a tissue paper and keep the onions aside.
- Cut carrots and beans lengthwise and parboil them with corn and peas for around 5 to 6 mins. Drain the vegetable stock and reserve.
- Heat 1/4th cup of milk and add a pinch of saffron and mix and let it infuse well.
- In a heavy bottom handi, add 3 tablespoons ghee and add 2 onions roughly diced (lengthwise) and add the green chillies and ginger garlic paste. Cook till the onions turn pink.
- Now add remaining Turmeric powder, red chilli powder, dhaniya powder, Biryani masala and some salt and mix well. Add 1 tomato chopped lengthwise. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. You could add some of the reserved vegetable stock.
- Now add the marinated potatoes and the remaining parboiled vegetables. Sauté for couple of minutes. Add around 1.25 cups of the reserved vegetable stock and bring to a gentle boil.
- Now reserve half of the vegetables from the gravy, leaving more of the gravy in the handi. Add one layer of rice. Add some deep fried onions, mint and coriander leaves.
- Add the remaining vegetable gravy and repeat the layer of rice, onions and mint and coriander leaves.
- Make some holes using fork and add around 1 to 2 tablespoons ghee. Pour the saffron infused milk on top and cover with aluminium foil on top and tightly close the lid and cook on dum on lowest flame for 20 minutes. Do not open the lid in between.
- Let the biryani rest for 5 minutes before opening the lid. Now use a fork and gently puff up the rice so that the steam can escape. Wait for 5 mins before using a spoon, so that the steam can escape. This is important else the rice grains can break when it is mixed while still hot.
Notes
- Use the best quality, long grain basmati rice for this dish. Soak the rice for at least 20 minutes before cooking.
- It is important to cool the partially cooked rice before using it for dum cooking. This will ensure that the biryani does not get mushy and sticky.
- Deep frying the potatoes enhances the flavour and taste. However you could roast them in oven too, before marinating. You could also fry some cauliflower florets and add to the dish.
- You could add or replace the veggies of your choice. Some chopped bell peppers also taste very good in this recipe. But if you are using bell peppers, add towards the end of sautéing the veggies to retain it’s crunch.
- Deep fried onions is a must for this dish and brings a unique flavour and sweetness to the dish. Fry the onions in medium flame to get a crisp golden brown onion.
- You could also infuse saffron in hot water instead of milk, if you want to skip milk.
- You could also add 1 or 2 tablespoons of rose or kewra water just before the dum for some added aroma. But be careful with the amount of these ingredients as they can overpower the dish.
- Use a heavy bottom handi or kadai for cooking in dum, else the rice and gravy could get burnt. Also ensure that there is enough gravy at the bottom. It should be roughly till the level where the veggies are just submerged.
- Once the dum cooking is complete, open the lid and slightly puff up the rice using a fork and wait for 5 mins for the steam to escape. If you try mixing or serving immediately, the rice could break.
- This biryani is only to be slightly mixed before serving, else the layers would be lost.
- You could garnish with some more fried onion on top before serving.
