Trial and error method is a fundamental method in problem solving and the same goes to cooking new dishes. This particular dish though did not take many trials …the ingredients were something that I had added not with perfection but with careful tasting in each step and it turned out finger licking good. I had watched the movie Avakai Biriyani for this recipe and trust me they are no way connected. I always thought dum style cooking is for restaurants but tried the dum style for the first time after my friend convinced me that it easier and yummy that way and I hate to agree with her but she was so true. The Avakai or the magic ingredient as I call it in this recipe is a very subtle yet dominating flavor bringing out the tanginess but not killing the spiciness of biriyani . So here goes the recipe Avakai Vegetable Dum biriyani. For your convenience i have added a step by step procedure as its somewhat a new dish to many .
Ingredients for Avakai Dum Biriyani :
- Rice: 2 cups
- Water: 4 cups
- Ghee: 2 tbsp
- Jeera
- Green Chillies : 4-5 sliced vertically
- Cashew nuts : 10 /Tez patta/ Bay leaf
- Tez patta/ Bay leaf : 2
- Ginger Garlic Paste : One tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Black Cardamon/Badi Elaichi : 2
- Cinnamon/Dalchina Chekka: 2 small pieces
- Cloves: 5
- Onions : 3 Medium sized( Vertically sliced …Remember the OCD husband ???)
- Potato: 2 Medium sized
- Cauliflower Florets : 1 Cup
- Carrot : 2 (sliced vertically)
- Green Peas Peeled : 1/2 Cup
- French Beans ( sliced )
- Mint Leaves ( a handful )
- Coriander Leaves ( a handful )
- Curd (1 Cup)
- Avakai/ Mango Pickle(Magic Ingredient ) : 3 Spoons
Preparation Time : 30 Minutes
Cooking Time : 30 Minutes
Recipe :
- Wash all vegetables thoroughly and cut them accordingly as shown in the pic below or as per your wish.
- On the other hand, in a bowl wash 2 cups of rice (basmati preferably…I had tried with normal rice) thoroughly and soak it for some time.
- In a heated heavy bottomed pressure cooker, add 4 spoons of ghee and once the ghee is heated add Jeera/Cumin seeds, Bay leaf, Dalchini/Cinnamon sticks , Black Cardamom and let them saute for a minute till they are fragrant. Make sure you saute them properly as there wont be any Garam Masala/ Biriyani Masala added in this recipe.
- Add Cashew nuts and wait till they turn golden brown and add sliced onions and green chillies. Keep stirring them until they turn golden. Once the Onions are done,add salt as per your taste(I had added only 1 tbsp of it as only the vegetables need salt and Avakai already contains lot of salt). Add 1 tbsp of Ginger Garlic Paste and saute till the raw smell disappears.
- Half cook the soaked rice (4 cups of water : 2 cups of rice, and put it in a pressure cooker for 1 or 2 whistles).
- Now on a low flame, add the vegetables one by one and saute them for a few minutes until they are almost cooked. After the vegetables are sauteed, add mint leaves and mix them well with other vegetables and cook for a minute. To these vegetables add a cup of curd and mix thoroughly.
- Let the mixture cook for two minutes and 4 spoons of Avakai/Mango Pickle as per your taste and stir them thoroughly and cook for 2 more minutes. Now remove a few vegetables and Avakai Mixture into a bowl .
- Add half portion of the half cooked rice above this and above that place a layer of vegetables and again above that vegetables and avakai layer add the remaining rice.
- Cover this heavy bottomed cooker for 15 minutes with aluminium foil on all sides and place the a cooker lid on the aluminium foil so that the steam doesn’t escape and all the ingredients are well cooked.
- Switch off the stove and let it stay without opening for 5 minutes and open the aluminium foil carefully and mix the contents of the biriyani thorougly but not as much so the rice doesnt split or become a paste.
- Garnish with a little more pickle and corainder leaves and you are ready to enjoy Avakai Vegetable Dum Biriyani .!!
P.S: Forgive me for my mediocre photography( bad pics) skills .
MaIntiVindhu 