Vegetable Dum Biryani (Stove-top/No-oven)

Vegetable dum Biryani is a delicacy at home. It is like the king of rice recipes 🙂 We, being South Indians just love our biryanis and my husband is more so as he is from hyderabad – the city known for its Dum Biryani 🙂 🙂 I make biryani atleast once a week, I am not joking, I make it in several forms – pressure cooker method, stove top, oven, in every way I can. I have recipes for Paneer Dum Biryani, Soy chunk Biryani on my blog and I wanted to update a basic vegetable dum biryani version, so sharing it today.

Now, I used a dum-style for this recipe here, but you can also do a simple pressure cooker or rice cooker method. I normally cook biryanis in pressure cooker itself as it takes less effort and time. But once in a while you can definitely try out this dum-style.

You can serve this biryani with Hyderabad-special Mirchi Ka Salan or any raita.

To get the dum effect, I covered the pan with aluminum foil and cooked it on a very low flame.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 30 mins Cooking time: 20-25 mins

For fried onions:

Onion – 1 cup (cut into thin long pieces)

Oil – 1 tsp

For yellow color:

Saffron strands/turmeric – a pinch

Milk – 2 tbsp

For rice:

Basmati rice – 1 cup

Cloves – 3-4

Green cardamom – 3-4

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Peppercorns – 4-5

Bay leaf – 1

Lemon juice – 1 tsp

Oil – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

For dum biryani:

Potato, carrot, green peas – ½ cup, combined

Onion – 1 big

Tomatoes – 2 medium, chopped

Cumin seeds/jeera – 1 tbsp

Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Green chilli – 3-4 (slit lengthwise)

Biryani masala powder – 4 tbsp

Coriander leaves – 1/3 cup

Mint leaves – 1/3 cup

Coriander powder – 2 tbsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Curd/yogurt – ¼ cup

Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp, optional

Oil – 1 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Procedure:

To make onions

Fry the onion in oil at a medium low flame till they turn dark golden brown. Keep aside.

To make yellow color

Add milk to the turmeric/saffron strands, mix well and keep aside.

To make rice

1. Combine everything under ‘for rice’ and soak them in water for about 30 minutes. Then boil about 5 cups water and add them and cook till rice is 70% cooked.
2. Drain the water and place the rice aside.

To make dum biryani

 Variations:

1. Heat oil in a large kadai. Be sure to take a big kadai/wok, as we will do the dum biryani in the same vessel.
2. Add jeera, ginger garlic paste, green chilli and fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add the onion and fry till it turns light brown in color.
4. add the tomatoes and fry covered till it turns mushy and well cooked
5. Simmer for a good 5 minutes till it leaves oil.
6. Transfer to a blender jar, add curd, enough salt.
7. Blend to a smooth puree, set aside
8. In the same kadai, add oil.
9. Add the vegetables and cook covered till they are fully done. Add biryani masala, red chili powder, coriander and cumin powders, half the amounts of coriander and mint leaves
10. Add the blended puree, add 1 cup water and simmer till you get a gravy consistency. Transfer to a bowl and set aside
11. In the same kadai, let’s layer the components
12. Add half the amount of prepared gravy
13. Add a layer of half the amount of rice
14. Add some fried onions, coriander and mint leaves
15. Repeat this layers one more time.
16. Finally layer the top with some biryani masala, saffron milk and ghee.
17. 
18. Cover with aluminum foil and seal the edges
19. Simmer on very low heat for 15-20 minutes
20. Remove from heat and serve hot with a nice raita and cucumber salad. Yum Yum!!