3tablespoonschopped fresh cilantro and mint leaves
2tablespoonsmilk
A pinch of saffron
2tablespoonscoarsely chopped cashews fried in a little bit of oil or ghee
Salt to taste
3tablespoonsoil / ghee for frying the onions + 1 ½ tbsp for cooking biryani
Instructions
Wash the rice until it runs clear and soak the rice in water for 15 minutes.
Heat a deep pan full of water and add the cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, black peppercorn, Cumin seeds, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon oil or ghee and salt as needed for the rice (about 1 teaspoon). Let it come to a boil.
Add the soaked rice to it and let it cook until it’s 75% cooked.
When done, drain the rice and set it aside.
When the rice is cooking, heat the milk until it is slightly warm and add the saffron strands to it. Mix and set aside.
Now take a small pan and add 3 tablespoons oil/ ghee and add the sliced onions to it. Let it fry in a low medium heat until they turn golden brown. When done, drain the onions and set it aside. You can use the remaining oil/ghee for cooking biryani if you wish.
Take a large bowl and add the yogurt, ginger garlic paste, crushed green chilies, biryani masala, turmeric powder, chili powder, 1 tablespoon cilantro and mint, diced veggies, salt to tase and half of the fried onions. Mix until the veggies are well coated in the masala yogurt mixture.
Set it aside for 10 minutes.
Now take a Dutch oven or a heavy bottomed pan and add the remaining oil.
When it becomes hot, add the marinated veggies and yogurt mixture. Saute for a minute and cook covered for about 5 to 6 minutes until the veggies and cooked 70%. The veggies should still be firm and have a bite to it because they will further cook along with the rice.
If you find mixture sticking to the bottom of the pan, sprinkle water and gently deglaze the pan taking care not the break the veggies.
When done switch off flame, top the veggie mixture with the cooked rice. (The bottom layer will be of the veggie mixture and the top layer will be of the rice.)
Top the rice with saffron milk (Just drizzle the milk so it’s spread evenly over the rice.)
Then top with remaining fried onions, remaining mint and cilantro, fried cashews.
Now take another heavy cast iron pan / skillet that has a bigger bottom than the pan you have the biriyani on.
Heat the larger pan and place the biryani pan on top of it. (Now the biryani pan is on top of the larger cast iron skillet which is being heated) This technique is called dum cooking.
Close the biryani pan with a tight lid.
Cook in a low flame for 20 to 25 minutes. Don’t open the lid as the biryani is cooking.
After 20-25 minutes, the biryani is done cooking.
Serve with raita, naan, or any side of your choice.
Notes
You can use soy curls or fried tofu/paneer in place of the veggies.You can also use canned chickpeas instead or along with the veggies.