Why this recipe works
Like its meat cousin, veg biryani is about dum, sealing the pot so everything steams gently in trapped aroma. The vegetables are marinated in yogurt and spices for depth, the rice is par-boiled to about 70% so it finishes in the steam without going mushy, and layering keeps the mint, fried onion and whole spices fragrant.
Ingredients
Method
-
1
Marinate the vegetables in yogurt, ginger-garlic, whole-spice powder, half the fried onions and salt.
Why: the yogurt seasons the vegetables deep and its water keeps them from drying through the long steam.
-
2
Par-boil the basmati with whole spices until about 70 percent done, then drain.
Why 70%: the rice must finish in the dum steam, cooking it fully now would leave it mushy after the second cook.
-
3
Layer par-cooked rice over the marinated vegetables. Scatter mint, fried onions, saffron milk and a little ghee.
-
4
Seal the lid and cook on very low heat (dum) until the vegetables are tender and the rice is fragrant and separate.
The soul of it: sealing traps the steam and volatile aromas, so the rice is perfumed from within rather than boiled in water.
An honest word
A vegetable biryani is lighter than a meat one, but still a rich dish: generous with ghee and rice. It is also a good way to eat a lot of vegetables in a fragrant one-pot. Lighter version: use a modest amount of ghee, pack in more vegetables and a little less rice, and serve with a fresh raita rather than more fried onion.