Vegetable Biriyani - Amma's Style

This is not the authentic Biriyani recipe but the one I love the most - my amma's version. Its tastes so good with added flavour of coconut, mint and coriander. My childhood memories are filled with awesome memories of this biriyani. Mom would prepare this biriyani every sunday and I would love it so much that I would have multiple servings 🙂 Especially for me, this tastes better when served cold (may be thats me) and I would take another serving in the evening and mom would be a happy soul. I have learnt this recipe from mom and now I have started preparing this in my kitchen 🙂

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• Onions, sliced length wise - ½ cup
• Tomatoes chopped - 1 cup
• Mixed vegetables (carrot, beans, potato and cauliflower) - 1 cup
• Basmati rice - 1 cup
• Meal maker (soya chunks) - ½ cup
• Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
• Bay leaf - 2
• Cloves - 2
• Green Elachi - 1
• Cinnamon Stick - 1
• Star Anise - 1
• Jathi Pathri - 1
• Oil - 5 tbsp
• Green Chili - 1 or 2
• Garam masala - 1 tsp
• Red Chili powder - ½ tsp
• Salt - as req
• Cashews - if req
• Water - 2 cups
• Coconut shredded - 1 cup
• Coriander + Mint - ½ cup

Preparation:

1. Wash the rice 1 time and soak in 2 cups of water. Set aside until needed.
2. Take a heavy bottom pan, Heat oil. Add cloves, elachi, bay leaf, cinnamon, star anise and jathi pathri.
3. Add onions and saute until transparent. Put in ginger garlic paste, stir for 2 mins. Add tomatoes and cook well.
4. Add all the cut vegetables and meal maker(which is boiled and strained). Cook for 5 mins.
5. Blend the coconut, cashews, coriander, mint and green chili into a fine paste.
6. Add the coconut paste to the cooking vegetables and cook for 5 mins.
7. Add the water from the soaking rice and put in the salt, garam masala and chili powder.
8. Once the water comes to boil, add the rice and simmer the heat. Cook for 10-15 mins.
9. Remove from heat when the rice is cooked well. Keep untouched for ten minutes and then serve with onion raita.