Veg Dum Biryani with Video. Vegetable Biryani made using the dum method. This is my way of making home style Dum Vegetable Biryani that is so apt for a Sunday Biryani lunch or for any family get togethers.
Sunday Biryani is a ritual that my children love to follow and on most Sundays I make this Mushroom Biryani as it is the most loved by both of them.
This veg dum biryani is a simple home style biryani that is chock full of veggies and aromatic whole spices that makes eating this a wholesome experience
To make this biryani rich, all I do is add ghee fried cashew nuts which when eaten along with the rice tastes really delicious.
I have another version of dum biryani in which I marinate the veggies to sit for some time before I cook it but this one as I said is a simple one but do not get fooled by it.
Whenever I make fried onions (birista), I make it a point to make Atho also in the next few days along with this veg dum biryani as Atho also uses fried onions.
So you need not have to worry about what to do with left over birista in case if there is any not that there would be any.
What other vegetables can I add to this Dum Veg Biryani?
You can add mushroom, cauliflower, broccoli.
You can also add fried tofu and paneer to make it more wholesome.
Add coloured bell peppers will make this much more interesting to the kids.
What other rice variety can I use?
I have used seeraga samba (zeera) rice to make this veg dum biryani.
It is a short grained rice variety that is very aromatic and most commonly used for making biryani is restaurants.
You can use basmati rice also and follow the same cooking process.
If you are not particular about the rice variety, then you can use any short grained rice variety or you can also use regular rice (Sona masuri) that you use for cooking.
What is the rice - water ratio?
It is always better to use the same cup for measuring both rice and water if you want the texture of the cooked rice to be perfect.
The general ratio is for every 1 cup of rice, use 1-¼ cup water if you are going to use dum method of cooking.
The part steaming & condensation that happens during the cooking process will provide enough moisture for the rice to get fully cooked and yet remain separate and grainy.
Points to note:
Make sure that the curd / yogurt that you add is fresh and not sour.
Adding sour curd will ruin the taste of the biryani.
Always be gentle while mixing rice to prevent it from breaking and from becoming mushy and lumpy.
Soaking the rice for the required amount of time is important if you want the rice to be separate and grainy.
Take the time to cook till the raw smell of the ginger garlic paste wears off.
Make sure to simmer the flame completely before adding spice powders to prevent them from getting burned or change colour.
You can use either homemade or store bought biryani masala powder.
Adding ghee fried cashew nuts or bread croutons is optional. You can also add ghee fried almonds.
Using pre cut veggies will save time but also will chopping the veggies and refrigerating the day before you make this biryani.
You can also check out the other biryani varieties like
Veg Dum Biryani video below:
Veg Dum Biryani Recipe with video below:
Recipe
Veg Dum Biryani
Ingredients
- Seeraga Samba Rice or zeera rice - 2 cups or 300 gms
- Onion - 1 big
- Tomato - 1 medium
- Green chillies - 2
- Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
- Carrots - ¼ cup
- French Beans - ¼ cup
- Potato - ¼ cup
- Peas - ¼ cup
- Biryani Masala or Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
- Curd - ¼ cup
- Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
- Mint leaves - ¼ cup packed loosely
- Coriander leaves - ¼ cup packed loosely
- Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
- Coriander Powder - ½ tsp
- Turmeric Powder - ¼ tsp
- Salt - to taste
- Oil - 2 tbsp
- Ghee - 1 tbsp
Whole Spices:
- Bay leaf - 1
- Cloves - 3
- Cardamom - 2
- Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
- Star Anise - 1
For Garnish:
- Ghee fried cashew nuts or bread cubes
- Fried Onions or Birista
Instructions
Preparation:
- Wash and soak seeraga samba rice in water for 20 mins.
- Chop onion into juliennes. Chop tomatoes finely. Slit the green chillies.
- Chop carrots & french beans into one inch size pieces. Cube the potatoes.
Make veg dum biryani:
- Place a pan over medium flame. Add oil and ghee and let the ghee melt.
- Add bay leaf, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise and cook for 1 min or till the aroma releases.
- Add onions and cook till it becomes translucent.
- Add tomatoes and green chillies and cook till the tomatoes become mushy.
- Simmer the flame completely.
- Add ginger garlic paste and cook for 1 min or till the raw smell goes off. Keep mixing often to prevent the paste from sticking to the pan.
- Add half of mint leaves and coriander leaves and mix well till they shrink completely.
- Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and mix well to combine.
- If the mixture starts sticking to the pan, add 2 tablespoon water and mix well.
- Add carrots, french beans, potatoes and peas. Mix well and cook for 1 min.
- Add whisked curd, salt and mix well to combine.
- Drain water completely from seeraga samba rice and add it to the pan.
- Mix well for the rice to combine well with the masala.
- Add 2-½ cup water, lemon juice, biryani masala powder and mix well.
- Close the pan with lid and let it cook for 3 to 4 mins.
- The rice would have absorbed half the water, got almost 50% cooked and would have risen up to the surface.
- Mix well gently and sprinkle the remaining mint and coriander leaves on top.
- Let’s place the pan on dum to finish the cooking fully.
Preparing for dum cooking:
- As soon as you close the pan with lid for the rice to cook (step no: 15), in another stove place an iron tawa on full flame.
- Once it gets hot, keep the flame on simmer. This is like pre heating the oven.
- After you sprinkle mint & coriander leaves on top (step no: 17), lift the pan carefully with tongs & place it on the center of the hot tawa.
- Close the pan with a tight and well fitting lid.
- Place another iron skillet or tawa on top of the lid or any heavy object to seal it well & to prevent the heat from escaping.
- If you do not have an iron skillet, you can also place a wide pan on top of the plate and fill it up with hot water.
- The flame should be low. Let it be on dum for 10-12 mins and then switch off the stove.
- Leave the dum arrangement undisturbed for another 15 mins.
- After 15 mins, remove the skillet, lid and gently using either a fork or the back of a ladle fluff up the rice.
- Add ghee fried cashews and wait for 5 mins for the rice to cool off a bit to prevent it from getting mushy while mixing.
- Veg dum biryani is ready.
- Mix gently and serve hot sprinkled with fried onions (birista) on top with any raita or curry of your choice.
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