Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani

It is said that if you can cook a good Biryani, you can be a chef at the Nawab’s kitchen! Indeed, it is not for the fainthearted! In my opinion, the ultimate culinary experience is to cook, to smell, and to eat a well-prepared Biryani. Of course, they are not all made equal; the ‘Hyderabadi Dum Biryani’ has always been the uncontested champion of Biryanis. When you cook your Biryani with saffron (without artificial colors), you are preparing a royal food served only in the finest palaces of India! Here is an authentic recipe for Hydrabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani using the Instant Pot. IP is perfect to prepare the dum part, which is the best part of this style of Biryani.  It seamlessly infuses the blend of spices and their aromas by slow cooking the rice in near ideal pressure conditions.  It is going to take time to prepare this dish right, so do not over commit to prepare too many other dishes.  Remember that this dish is designed to be a complete meal, thus many side dishes really are not needed anyway. Simply make a kurma, or raitha or both. Enjoy cooking this meal and Bon Appétit!

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Hyderabadi Vegetable Dhum Biryani

It is said that if you can cook a good Biryani, you can be a chef at the Nawab’s kitchen! Indeed, it is not for the fainthearted! In my opinion, the ultimate culinary experience is to cook, to smell, and to eat a well-prepared Biryani. This is a vegetarian meal and gluten free.

Course

Rice

Cuisine

Indian

Prep Time

2 hours

Cook Time

30 minutes

Passive Time

15 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

Vegetebles

• 1 Potato Medium cut into medium sized cubes
• 2 Carrots Cut into medium cubes
• 1/2 cup Green peas Soaked overnight
• 1/2 cup Cauliflower Cut into small pieces
• 1.5 Onion Large, some cut into long thin slices
• 6 Green chile 2 cut into long slits
• 7 Garlic Finely diced
• 1 tbsp Ginger Finely diced
• 1/2 cup Mint Finely diced
• 1/2 cup Coriander Finely diced

Masala Spices (Powder)

• 1.5 tsp Biryani Masala
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Red chile powder
• 1/2 tsp Garam masala powder

Other spices

• 9 Cardamom Whole, pods taken out. Use only the small inner black seeds.
• 2 tsp Cloves Whole
• 2 tbsp Cumin seeds
• 6 Cinnamon 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup Coriander Diced
• 1/2 cup Mint Diced
• in Saffron strands A few, dipped in milk

Misc

• Yellow food coloring (Optional) few drops, if not enough color from saffron
• 1 cup Yogurt
• 3 tbsp Fried onions
• 2.5 cup Basmati Rice
• 2 tsp Salt Add to taste
• 3 tbsp Butter
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup Fried onions Optional
• Water

Course Rice Cuisine Indian Prep Time 2 hours Cook Time 30 minutes Passive Time 15 minutes Servings people Ingredients Vegetebles 1 Potato Medium cut into medium sized cubes 2 Carrots Cut into medium cubes 1/2 cup Green peas Soaked overnight 1/2 cup Cauliflower Cut into small pieces 1.5 Onion Large, some cut into long thin slices 6 Green chile 2 cut into long slits 7 Garlic Finely diced 1 tbsp Ginger Finely diced 1/2 cup Mint Finely diced 1/2 cup Coriander Finely diced Masala Spices (Powder) 1.5 tsp Biryani Masala 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 1 tsp Red chile powder 1/2 tsp Garam masala powder Other spices 9 Cardamom Whole, pods taken out. Use only the small inner black seeds. 2 tsp Cloves Whole 2 tbsp Cumin seeds 6 Cinnamon 1 inch pieces 1 cup Coriander Diced 1/2 cup Mint Diced in Saffron strands A few, dipped in milk Misc Yellow food coloring (Optional) few drops, if not enough color from saffron 1 cup Yogurt 3 tbsp Fried onions 2.5 cup Basmati Rice 2 tsp Salt Add to taste 3 tbsp Butter 2 tbsp Vegetable oil 1/4 cup Fried onions Optional Water

Instructions

1. Cut all vegetables.

   
2. Rinse the rice thoroughly and soak it for at least an hour.
3. Add a few strands of saffron to a small amount of warm milk and set it aside.
4. On a non-stick frying pan, add oil and set the stove to med-high. Add 3 cardamom (only the small inner black seeds, and not the pods) to the oil.
5. Add 3 cloves, 3 small pieces of cinnamon stick, 1 tbsp of cumin seeds and fry until they are lightly brown.
6. Add green chilies, ginger and garlic and fry them all together for a few seconds.
7. Add onions and fry them until they become soft. Add salt and butter.
8. Add all Masala powders. Reduce the heat, then add ½ cup of yogurt, half of the diced mint and half of the diced coriander leaves. (Cooling it down when adding the yogurt ensures that it does not separate.)
9. Add all the vegetables (carrot, cauliflower, potatoes, and green peas). Adjust heat if needed. Slowly turn them over without making the vegetables fall apart. Cook until the potatoes just become soft. Be careful not to overcook the potatoes - if they overcook, then they will become mushy later in the process.
10. Ideally at this stage, you should have the vegetables cooked half way through and they are soaked in a thick gravy that is cooked as well. This is the most difficult and important part of the dum recipe for good consistency.
11. If the curry mix is very dry and all the moisture evaporated, add about 1/2 cup of liquid (puree) yogurt after it has cooled down. Mix gently. Add some fried onion (optional) and set aside.
12. In a separate large vessel, add 1 tbsp of cumin seed, and 1 tsp of oil. Add 6 cups of water.
13. In a tea ball, put in 3 cloves, 3 cardamom, 3 cinnamon sticks and a few bay leaves and close it with the lid. Drop the tea ball in the water. Heat the water and bring to a rolling boil. Keep it boiling for a few minutes.
14. Add the rice. Wait for 3-5 (maximum five) minutes. Do not cook the rice completely (just half way through). The test is that if you take a rice grain, and press it with your fingers, it should break into two halves.
15. Take the rice out of the container. Strain the rice, and spread it on a on a large plate for it to become dry for a few minutes. Make sure you save at least one cup of this water.
16. In the inner pot of the Instant Pot (IP), spread a layer of the cooked vegetable gravy mixture (from step #11) evenly at the bottom. Use as much as half of the cooked vegetables and the leave the other half for later. The trick here is to add the liquid part of the vegetable gravy to the bottom. You want more liquid in this layer than the later layers.
17. Add a layer of the half cooked rice slowly until the vegetable gravy base is covered with rice. Spread the rice uniformly over the cooked base. If the rice is cool enough, use your hand to sprinkle it on. If the rice is very hot, gently spread the rice using a spoon.
18. To this layer, sprinkle a uniform layer of coriander and mint leaves to cover the rice. Use as much as you like, but if you are not a fan of mint or coriander leaves, you can skip this step as well. Also sprinkle the fried onion (optional) onto this layer.
19. Note: Do not fill in layers beyond the 4L mark. Remember, rice will still expand a bit.

    
20. Repeat the above three steps, i.e., building a layer of vegetable base, then rice and then finally a layer of mint and coriander. Continue to build these layers until all rice and the base are used up. Ensure that the top/final layer is rice.
21. Sprinkle ½ cup of water over the top layer, preferably the leftover water from the rice preparation step (from step #15). Also, remember the rice and vegetables are only half cooked, so you need some amount of moisture in the pot. For 2.5 cups of rice, you need a total of about one cup of moisture for the rice to cook in.
22. Sprinkle the saffron milk on the top layer. Add some additional yellow coloring, if needed. Sprinkle some long cut onions and chilies over the top layer.
23. Close the lid. Close the valve to the 'sealing position' and set to 'slow cook on high' for 30 minutes. This the dum part. The IP may not build enough pressure for the 'floating valve' to pressure position. That is okay.
24. After 30 minutes, open the lid. Biryani should be done, check the vegetables and the rice. Taste some from the bottom layers. If the rice is not done, add additional minutes.
25. Mix the rice and serve. Some folks like to serve it without mixing, but I like to mix. Garnish it with onions, green chilies, and cilantro.