It is a festive time in the Indian community and, as always, it calls for special dishes. Here we share a perfect celebratory dish to make your Diwali more enjoyable and flavourful – the quintessential vegetable biryani.
It is full of exotic flavours and loved by all across age groups or food preferences. It is that special dish which you can make to feed as well as please a crowd without any worry.
Diwali, which will be celebrated on November 14, means a “row of lights”, and refers to the triumph of darkness over evil. On a spiritual level, it refers to a person’s enlightenment.
If you don’t know what to prepare for Diwali this year, this recipe by the founder and owner of 108 Chef, Syam Das, should make it easier to celebrate the holy day.
Vegetable masala biryani
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 3 large onions
- ½ cup ghee – clarified butter
- 3 large onions sliced super thin.
- 2 cups of basmati Rice
- 6 cups of water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup masoor dhal or lentils
- 1 cup masoor dhal combined with water and a pinch of hing.
- 6 UTD (Up to Date, Caren, Darius and Avalanche) potatoes cut into halves
- 1 cup of peas
- 1 cup of broken green beans
- 1 cup gadra beans
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 cup double beans
- ¼ cabbage cut fine
- 6 green chillies
Method
In a large pot, preferably the one which you would cook in, add a ½ cup of ghee. Allow to heat and fry the onions until brown but not burnt. Once fried empty out ¾ of the fried onions and set aside.
Wash several times. In a pot add in 6 cups of water, salt, cinnamon sticks, a bay leaf bring to boil. Once the water starts to boil add in rice. Cook for 12 minutes. Strain and allow cold water over the rice. Allow to drain off.
Bring masoor dhal to a boil. Cook until soft but firm, and strain.
In the pot which was used to fry the onions. Heat up again. Add in a teaspoon of mustard seeds, jeera seeds, a teaspoon of ginger and garlic paste, about 6 green chillies. Mix well. Add in veggies. Add in 2 tbs of Kashmir, 1 tbs of Rombo rossi masala, 1 tsp biryani powder, salt to taste, a handful of chopped mint, and dhania. Mix well. Allow frying.
Then add 2 cups of water. Mix well. Cook until the water is reduced. Add 2 more cups of water. Set the potatoes on then top with the masoor dhal. Cover and allow to cook. After about 15 minutes, add the rice, a tsp of egg yellow colour randomly mixed in the rice only. Put the ¾ fried onions over and place in the oven for 1 hour.