Vegetable Biryani made in Rice cooker

It's the month of Ramadan! What comes to mind is Haleem, Biryani and more meat. (full of calories, But they need it, after a full day of fasting!)

My dish is for vegetarians and for those who are on a diet, Here is my Recipe of "Vegetable Biryani".

It's easy to make and very healthy too! (very less calories)

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice: 2 cups
• Water: 4 cups
• Assortment of chopped vegetables (carrots, beans, potato, peas):500 grams

          

• Onions: 3 (sliced) 

 

• Bay leaves: 2
• Shajeera: 1/2 tsp (caraway seeds)
• Ghee: 5 tbsp
• Mint and coriander leaves chopped.  3 tbsp each

• Salt according to your taste

~Spices which need to be ground to paste:

• Ginger: 3 cms
• Garlic: 8-12
• Green chillies: 3
• Poppy seeds: 2 tsp
• Fennel: 2 tsp
• Coriander powder: 2 tsp
• Chilly powder: 1/2 tsp
• Cloves: 5
• Cardamom : 5
• Cinnamon : 5 cms 

After Grinding the spices it will look like this.

Method:

• Soak the rice for 15 mins.
• Heat ghee in a kadai (wok). Add shah jeera and bay leaves.
• Then add sliced onions and fry till brown.
• At this point add the ground masala and fry for 2-3 mins.
• Switch off the gas burner and add the chopped mint and coriander leaves. Mix it properly.

• First add the soaked rice and water along with diced vegetables in the rice cooker.
• Then add the whole content of the kadai which you have just prepared ,and mix properly.
• Now put the lid and turn on the cooker (Switch to Cooking mode).
• Stirring half way gently would help in distributing the flavours in the biryani uniformly.
• When the biryani is cooked the cooker switch will automatically move to " Keep Warm " position.
• Let the biryani steam for 15- 20 mins before you turn off the cooker. 
• Serve with fried dry fruits of your choice as a garnish.

    Enjoy veg biryani with raita and salad :)

                 

Serving suggestion:

Stir gently otherwise the long grain rices will break and the beauty of the biryani will get spoiled .

Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:- (serves 6 )

• Chicken with bones cut into 16 pieces-1 kg/2.2lbs
• Good quality long Basmati rice...750 gms/1.65lbs
• Onions-125gms/4.4oz....fried 2 fistful
• Cooking oil-enough for deep frying onions
• Cilantro leaves-1 small bunch/10 twigs
• Mint leaves-1 small bunch/10 twigs
• Yogurt/curd-200gms/7.05oz
• Milk-1/2 teacup
• Saffron- 2 pinch
• Chicken biryani masala 1 packet

STEPS FOR COOKING:-

1)Dissolve the saffron in half a teacup of milk....whip the yogurt thoroughly and keep it aside.

2)Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the onions till golden brown.Remove and keep aside and crush them after they dry.

3)In a bowl take the ready made masala paste, curd, crushed onions, saffron milk, 60 ml of oil, cilantro leaves, mint leaves & mix all of these thoroughly with the chicken and keep it aside...

Marinate for 2-3 hrs. Those who don't want to use ready made pack's paste can make a paste out of 4 tsp of ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp of cumin seeds, 1 tsp of coriander seeds, garam masala powder-1 tbsp, 2 tbsp of lemon juice, 1 tbsp of red chilly powder and 1 tsp of turmeric powder, salt according to your taste.

4)Wash the rice and keep it aside. (soaked)

5)Take a pot (See below "Pot used") & Pour 2 litres of water & put on high flame.

6) Cover the pot and let it come to boil.

7)Put bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, & cloves in the boiling water

.

8)Pour the soaked rice into the boiling water and stir occasionally till the rice is just half done.

(Once the rice is put into boiling water the process should take around 3-5 minutes)

9)Drain the rice thoroughly and spread it over the chicken mixture!

10) Pour 5 tbsp of clarified butter over this. (Ghee)

11)Cover the pot tightly. Put it on high flame till steam is seen coming out (this process should not take more than 8 minutes).

12)Remove the pot. Take another pan/tawa on a burner and heat it up.

Then place the pot on the pan (tawa) on reduced flame as much that the flame just touches the wok.

13)Keep it like this for almost 40 minutes

14)Put off the flame & let the pot remain on the pan for another 10-15 minutes.

Open the Pot just before serving and serve the biryani hot after mixing thoroughly from deep inside.

~ENJOY BIRYANI THIS RAMADAN~

PS:

This is the "handi" (POT) that I used for the preparation:-

  

This is the pan (tawa) that I used:-

Please leave any queries or suggestions in the comment box below or on my facebook page.