Hyderabadi vegetable biryani & mirchi ka salan

Ingredients

For rice:

• Basmati rice , 2 cups
• Water ,3 cups
• Ghee , a teaspoon
• Cardamom pods, 2
• Salt , to taste

For Gravy:

• Mixed Vegetables , 2 cups
• Carrots, French Beans, Potatoes, Green Peas, Cauliflower
• Onion, 1 big, thinly sliced
• Tomato , 1 big, chopped into big cubes
• Green Chillies ,2 to 3, slit
• Coriander leaves, a bunch
• Mint leaves, a handful
• Ginger-Garlic paste ,1 tablespoon
• Thick Yoghurt ,4 to 5 tablespoons
• Turmeric powder,a teaspoon
• Cashews,10 to 15
• Oil/Ghee ,3 to 4 tablespoons
• Salt , to taste

Whole Garam Masala:

• Cinnamon stick , 1" inch piece
• Cloves ,4 to 5
• Bay Leaf , 1
• Star anise ,1
• Cardamom pod , 2 or 3
• Cumin seeds , 1 teaspoon

Biryani Masala powder:

• Cloves
• Green Cardamom
• Black Cardamom
• Cumin :2 tablespoons
• Red Chilli :3 to 4
• Peppercorn :1 tablespoon

For Garnishing:

• Saffron strands
• A tablespoon of milk
• Mirchi Ka Salan
• Chillies cooked in mildly spiced gravy

What we need:

• Jalapeno Pepper / Long green chilli, medium-hot variety , 5 to 6
• Turmeric powder, a pinch
• Red chilli powder, 1 teaspoon

-To sauté and grind:

• Onion, medium sized , 1
• Tomato, medium sized , 1
• Garlic , 4 to 5 pods
• Ginger , 1" inch piece
• Coconut, grated , 2 tablespoons

To Dry roast and powder:

• Roasted Peanuts, 3 tablespoons
• Sesame seeds , 1 tablespoon
• Cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon

To Temper:

• Cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon
• Fenugreek seeds ,1 teaspoon
• Curry leaves, a sprig
• Oil, 2 tablespoons

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Preparation

• Cooking the Rice: Wash and soak the basmati rice for an hour. Heat Ghee in a heavy-bottomed vessel. Drain and add the rice to this. Meanwhile boil 3 cups of water separately. Stir till the rice becomes a little hard. Add the boiling water, cardamom pods and salt to this. Cook till all the water is absorbed and holes start appearing on the surface. Switch off, cool and fluff it up with a fork. Set aside.
• Preparing the Gravy: Heat Oil or Ghee in a wok. Throw in all the ingredients marked under "Whole Garam Masala" and fry till the aroma is released.
  Now add the cashews and fry till the cashews turn golden brown. Add the Onion, green chillies and ginger-garlic paste. Fry till the onions start to turn brown. Throw in the tomatoes, half of the coriander and mint leaves and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the salt, turmeric powder and 2 (heaped) spoonful of Biryani Masala powder. Mix and add the vegetables. Coat them well with the masala and fry for 5 minutes till they are done. Remember, we have par-boiled them; so it should not take more time to cook. Add the Yoghurt/Curd, give a good mix and remove from the flame. Add the remainder of coriander and mint leaves and mix.
• Arranging/Cooking the Biryani: Mix the saffron strands in milk and set aside.
  Take an oven-safe vessel, or a heavy-bottomed deep vessel. Arrange alternate layers of Cooked Rice and Gravy, starting with Rice and ending with rice, i.e both bottom-most and top-most layer must be rice.Sprinkle the saffron-milk over the rice. If using oven, cover the vessel with an aluminum foil and cook in the pre-heated oven for 20 to 30 minutes on 200° C.
  For stove-top method, cover the vessel with a lid, lower it into a bigger vessel filled with water and place the whole arrangement on the stove on low-medium and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. When ready to serve, dig out a layer all the way till the bottom and serve with some chopped coriander over it.
• Making the paste: In a tablespoon of oil, gently sauté the diced onions, along with garlic and grated ginger. When the onions turn soft, throw the chopped tomatoes, saute for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle the grated coconut and switch off. Let the mixture and then blend to a smooth paste with very little water.
• Making the dry masala powder: Dry roast peanuts, sesame seeds and cumin and make a fine powder using a mixie.
• Making Mirchi ka Salan: Heat oil in a kadai and sauté the chillies till the skin starts turning white. Remove and set aside. In the remaining oil, add the cumin, fenugreek seeds and the curry leaves. When the cumin crackles and fenugreek turns dark brown, add the ground onion-tomato paste.Stir well till the oil starts to separate. Now throw in the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and powdered peanut-sesame-cumin powder. Sprinkle little water to avoid the burning. When all gets blended well, add a cup of water and salt. When it starts boiling, add the sautéed chillies and stir. Adjust the consistency of water based on how thick you want your gravy.Allow it to boil for a minute and remove. Serve the Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani and Mirchi Ka Salan together and relish the irresistible combo.