One pot Pressure Cooker Vegetable Biryani

Hi Guys,

Now don’t get me started with there is nothing called a ‘vegetarian’ biryani! Call it what you wish…it is a delicious meal nonetheless…what’s in a name anyway? If you are lazy like me and hate the pile of dishes that stack up after cooking…it is always better to try one pot recipes. It is not rocket science but just making sure you cook in a proper sequence. This is just the way I do it…

See the entire video on my YouTube Channel:

MAD INCLINATIONS https://youtu.be/8E1Yfhla7w4

Ingredients: (with my measurements):

·  Good quality Basmati Rice (this makes all the difference) (1+1/4^th large Cup)

·      Ghee (clarified Butter) (2-3 tablespoons)

·      Sunflower oil or any neutral oil (2 tablespoons)

·      For Garnish

o  Onion (1 thinly sliced julienne) to be caramelized

o  Nuts of choice for crunch

§  Cashew (4-5 nos)

§  Almonds (4-5 nos)

§  I used a teaspoon of channa dal, u can also use peanuts and raisins

o  Finely chopped coriander leaves (roughly 4 tablespoons)

·      Whole Raw Spices

o  Cloves (4 nos)

o  Cardamom (4 nos)

o  Black peppercorns (4 nos)

o  Star anise (1 no),

o  Cinnamon stick (½ inch)

o  Mace (javitri) (½ inch)

o  Bay leaves (2 nos)

o  Garlic (4 medium cloves)

o  Ginger (½ inch)

·      Spice Powders

o  Turmeric powder (1/4^th teaspoon),

o  Kashmiri chili powder (1 heap teaspoon),

o  Coriander powder (½ teaspoon)

o  Garam masala (1/4^th teaspoon)

o  Fenugreek powder (1/4^th teaspoon)

o  Cumin powder (1/8^th teaspoon)

o  Black pepper powder (few sprinkles)

o  Salt to taste

·      Vegetables (of your choice really, but these are what I used)

o  Onion (1 medium diced)

o  Potato (1 medium cubed)

o  Carrot (1 medium cubed)

o  Tomato (1 large diced)

o  Green chili (3 medium chopped)

o  Fresh corn kernels (roughly 3 tablespoons)

o  Peas (roughly 3 tablespoons)

o  Cauliflower florets (roughly 3 tablespoons)

To start, take out your pressure cooker, turn on your gas, once the pot slightly heats up, add 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil (or any neutral tasting oil) + 2 tablespoons of ghee (clarified butter) …. this is all you will need till the very end.

For the Garnish, Caramelize the julienne-sliced onions by frying them in the above oil mixture until dark brown. Set aside after straining the excess oil back into the pot. Then fry roast any variety of nuts available to you, I used cashews, almonds and channa dal…once slightly brown, strain excess oil set the nuts aside.

Lower the flame and fry the raw garam masala in the ghee, I used 4 cloves, 4 cardamom, 4 black peppercorns, 1 star anise, ½ inch cinnamon stick, ½ inch mace (javitri), 2 bay leaves…Once the raw garam masala has smoked in the oil for a few minutes and the smell of the spice scented ghee tickles your nostril...it is time to strain them out of the oil. This is optional…you can choose to leave it in…I prefer not to!

 Now that the oil is sufficiently flavored, it’s time to prepare the masala for the biryani. In the same pot, I will now add the finely diced onions. When slightly golden, the onions need to be infused with some ginger+garlic paste (I used 4 medium cloves of garlic and ½ inch of ginger finely shredded). Add one each diced potato and carrot. I follow this up with crackling cumin seeds in the same pot. This way your cumin is not burnt unlike when u try to temper it in the beginning! I follow this with 1 big diced tomato, 3 small chopped green chili and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped coriander leaves. After the tomato has softened in the pan, I add the faster cooking vegetables like corn kernels, peas and cauliflower florets (all about 3 tablespoons each).

 Once all the vegetables are in add a little more salt and add the spices. I added 1/4^th teaspoon turmeric powder,1 heap teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder, ½ teaspoon coriander powder, 1/4^th teaspoon of garam masala, 1/4^th teaspoon of fenugreek powder, 1/8^th teaspoon of cumin powder, sprinkle black pepper powder. Sauté the vegetables and spices in low heat.

Preparing yellow rice: - This is an optional step. You can use saffron to give yellow color to your rice by grinding it up and diffusing it in milk or warm water. Add the saffron stained liquid to stain the rice (1/4 cup). Another method to stain the rice is to add any natural yellow food color. This is what I did as I ran out of saffron!

Now that the vegetables are sautéed in the pan, time to add the well washed, drained and pre-salt water-soaked (soaked for about ½ to 1 hour) and strained rice! I added 1 cup of this rice followed by one more table spoon of ghee and fry the rice for a minute or so with the vegetables…this is totally optional. All the ghee, oil and spices can be adjusted as per your discretion. Now I will add about 1 + 3/4^th cup of tepid water. Give it a good stir.  At this stage I will plop in the color stained 1/4^th cup rice, which I had set aside earlier. I will not stir this.

 

I will lock in the pressure cooker lid with the pressure weight. I will increase the heat to medium low. After I hear the first whistle from the cooker, I will lower back gas to low and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. After this I turn of the gas and wait PATIENTLY for the cooker to de-steam ON IT’s OWN…which would at least take 10 – 15 minutes! Once the cooker has lost all the built-up steam, unlock the cooker and add the garnish (fried caramelized onions and nuts + some finely chopped coriander leaves) …keep the lid back on until you are ready to serve.

Yummy DUM-like Vegetable Biryani in one pot is ready! Serve hot with cool cucumber raita and pickle of your choice…for an added crunch…lay out a plate of crisps or crackling papad! You are in food heaven now…bon appetite! 😊