Name: Sabz Dum Biryani – Delicious & Aromatic.
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 3 to 4 Cauliflower Florets, large; 1 Potato, large, peeled; 1/2 cup Carrot, peeled; 1/2 cup French Beans,; 1/2 cup Peas,; 10-12 Mint Leaves, chopped; 2 tbsp Biryani Masala,; Salt, to taste; 1/2 cup Curd,; 1.5 cup Rice, washed, pre-soaked; Water, to boil; 2 Bay leaves,; 2 Cloves,; 1 Star Anise,; 1-Inch Piece Cinnamon Stick,; 4 to 6 Black Pepper,; 1 Black Cardamom,; 1 tbsp Lemon Juice,; Salt, to taste; 1 Onion, large, sliced; 2 Tomato, large; 4 to 6 clove Garlic,; 2-Inch Piece Ginger,; 2 tbsp Cooking Oil,; 1 tsp Cumin Seeds,; 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder,; 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder,; Marinated Veggies, as prepared; Cooked Veggies, as prepared; Boiled Rice, as prepared

I have just three words to describe this vegetable dum biryani – flavourful, aromatic, and delicious. This is the creation of love, time, and a lot of patience. This is similar to marriage. Right? Well, good things happen when these three things combine.

STORY TIME

Jatin loves dum biryani. It is one of his favorite recipes. He is not a big fan of rice but he can have dum biryani every week. He loves eating and cooking but there are a few things that are so close to his heart that he tries to replicate the same restaurant-style taste at home. One of those recipes is this vegetable dum biryani. Other recipes are – ghewar, masala dosa, and Pindi chole.

He tried to make vegetable dum biryani at home but sometimes the spices were not balanced, sometimes the rice didn’t have that nice flavor. After a few attempts, he lost the battle. Then, entered his wife. I tried to replicate the taste which he likes – Reddy’s Dum Biryani. He enjoyed the biryani which I made for him. No complaints. But it was not like Reddy’s Dum Biryani. I tried more. And one day, he loved it so much and in the end, he said – It is like Reddy’s Biryani. Ahhhhhh…MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

It makes me wonder, do I live to impress him with food? Hmmmm…

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TIPS TO MAKE IT RIGHT

1 – MARINATION

Marination is not just coating the vegetables with some spices and curd mixture and use it in the recipe. It needs time to develop more flavors. Resting time is important. We add some acidic ingredients to the marination (like curd) because it helps the flavors to seep into the cut vegetables. And this process takes some time. That is why, whenever you marinate, be it vegetables in dum biryani or paneer in paneer tikka masala, always let it rest for at least 30 minutes. No Shortcut!

Paneer tikka masala — Paneer Tikka Masala

2 – RICE

Cooking the right perfectly is as important as choosing the right kind of rice for dum biryani. If you can manage to get long grain biryani rice, use that. Otherwise, you can use any long grain basmati rice for this recipe. But while cooking, make sure they don’t break or become mushy. DO NOT stir continuously. Wash the rice gently. Otherwise, the grains will break.

How to make flavourful rice for biryani?

You need to partially cook the rice, till they are 80% cooked. Rest cooking happens in dum. But the excitement of eating biryani vanishes if the rice is not flavourful enough. For that, make sure the water in which you are boiling the rice is salted enough. It should taste like seawater. Otherwise, the rice grains in biryani feel bland in taste. Also, add some whole spices to the boiling water. That way, the rice grains get all the flavors and aroma which makes the biryani even more delicious.

How do we make sure that rice is non-sticky when cooked?

There are two things that you need to do. First, while adding rice to the boiling water, add some lemon juice too. Lemon juice prevents the rice grains from sticking to each other. Also, once they are 80% cooked, drain off the water and transfer the rice to a large plate, and spread evenly. This cools down the rice fast resulting in non-sticky rice grains.

3 – SLOW COOKING

I say this a lot and I am saying it again – PATIENCE is the key. Yes. To get the most flavourful biryani, you need to let it slow cook for a long time. There is no room for hurriedness. Otherwise, you will end up with a spicy vegetable pulao and not a delicious dum biryani.

Other recipes that need slow cooking are – Dhaba style dal makhani, Pindi Chole. Patience is the key to get the most of these recipes. So, take a deep breath and then start cooking.

4 – FRAGRANCE

We had the best biryani of our life in a hotel. I don’t remember the name of the hotel but they had some Afghani festival going on and they were serving some delicious food at that time. We ordered vegetable biryani there and when the waiter got our order, the aroma was something which we still remember. The fragrance of rose water was so good and so distinct. I tried to replicate the same aroma at home using pure rose water or by adding a lot of rose water to the biryani. It doesn’t work.

What worked is this trick – add rose water once the biryani is done. Yes. You read it right. There is no point in adding rose water while biryani is cooking. When you cook the biryani for such a long time, the aroma of rose water just fades away. The fragrance of all the spices becomes more dominant. That is why always finish off the cooked biryani with some rose water. It leaves a nice, distinct aroma in your home-cooked biryani.

HOW TO COOK DUM BIRYANI AT HOME?

There are various methods of cooking dum biryani at home.

Cooking Stove – If you are making biryani on a gas stove or induction stove, use a heavy bottom, deep pan or cooker. Follow the recipe as given and after layering the biryani, cover the pan and seal it completely. There should not be any hole or any space from where the steam can escape. If you are using a pressure cooker, cover it using a heavy plate and not the pressure cooker lid. Seal the edges using the dough. Then, I prefer to put the pan on a heavy bottom flat pan or tawa and slow cook for 1 to 2 hours. This ensures slow cooking without burning the bottom.
Instant Pot – I make biryani in Instant Pot. After layering, I simply choose the slow cook mode and cook it for 1.5 hours. This is easy and since it is so perfectly locked and no steam escapes, it retains the flavour and aroma well.
Oven – You can also make biryani in oven too. Just cook everying on the stove and then layer on an oven safe dish. Cover with the aluminium foil and then cook on a low temperature. I never tried it so I can not give the exact details. But, this is totally doable.

HOW TO SERVE VEGETABLE DUM BIRYANI?

Biryani tastes amazing with some thinly sliced onions on the side and some cucumbers too. Although, cucumber makes the flavor a little less spicy. I like it but Jatin prefers just some onions with biryani. We also enjoy this sabz dum biryani with some boondi raita or curd. It tastes so amazing. I am drooling. I am going to make it tomorrow.

MORE INDIAN RECIPES TO TRY

Now you are all ready to make this delicious vegetable dum biryani at home. It is perfect for lunch or brunch over the weekend. So, grab all the ingredients because you are ready to make a happy meal for yourself.

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Happy Cooking 🙂

Love from us

Richa & Jatin