ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Veg Biryani Recipe

Updated on September 1, 2015
The main secret behind this recipe!!
The main secret behind this recipe!!

I was never getting the rice consistency in the vegetable biryani right in spite of several variations and many references to recipes on the web. People were only advising soaking of rice for a half hour or so before preparation.

None of the tips helped me get separate grains of rice though the biryani was tasty. Then I tried this method of washing the rice and draining it completely, letting it stand for at least an hour.

Eureka! I found that not only did the biryani taste good, but the rice texture also made the recipe get all the appreciation I expected. I told all my friends about it, only to be thanked by them for the excellent recipe.

I don't remember reading or being told about this tip anywhere. From then on, vegetable Biryani has become an all-time favorite at home, especially when we have guests.

One more important point I would like to mention here is that credit for this lovely recipe goes to "Sakthi Biryani Masala" that goes into its preparation. I have tried many other masalas but none has been as good as this one, hence my emphasis that the dish should turn out well for anyone who follows this recipe religiously. Sakthi biryani masala powder is available in many countries as it is an export commodity.

Draining water after cleaning rice
Draining water after cleaning rice
Rice after draining, now a little more in quantity because the grains become a little swollen
Rice after draining, now a little more in quantity because the grains become a little swollen
Onions
Onions
Carrots, green bell pepper, potato and green peas
Carrots, green bell pepper, potato and green peas

Cook Time

Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 30 min
Ready in: 1 hour 30 min
Yields: Serves three people

So here we go:

Basmati Rice OR Raw rice 1 cup (200g)

Onion 1

Carrot 1 small

Potato 1 small

Green bell pepper (capsicum) 1/2

Beans 5 nos.

Cauliflower (optional) a few florets

Green peas (fresh, frozen or dry) a handful

Tomato 1

Sakthi Biryani Masala 2 heaped tbsp.

Ginger garlic paste 1 tsp.

Green chilies 1

Curd 2 tbsp.

Salt 1 1/2 to 2 tsp or as necessary

Water 1 1/2 cups

Cilantro leaves for garnishing

Method

  • Wash rice twice and drain the water by letting the vessel stand in an inclined position for an hour.
  • Cut the carrot, bell pepper and potato into thin, lengthwise pieces. Chop the tomato fine.
  • If you are using dried green peas you should soak them in water overnight or at least for a few hours in hot water.
  • In a fry pan, heat 50 ml cooking oil.
  • Add the chopped onion and ginger garlic paste and fry well till onion turns pink in colour.
  • Add all the vegetables one by one to the oil and fry for 2 more minutes.
  • Add the slit green chili and chopped tomato followed by curd and mix into the mixture.
  • While fresh peas can be added to the pan along with the other vegetables, take care to cook the dry peas separately and add them to the mixture before cooking. Even though they are soaked overnight, they do not cook well in rice cooker or pressure cooker when added with the other vegetables.
  • Add Sakthi biryani masala and mix well.
  • Mix in salt. I add 2 tsp for every cup of rice; adjust your salt according to your preference by reducing the measure given here.
  • Finally add the rice and mix well. Ensure dryness of the rice before adding.
  • Add water and cook in rice cooker.
  • If cooking in pressure cooker, cook for 2 whistles. I fry all these ingredients in the pressure cooker, add the rice, salt and water and cook for 2 whistles. This way there is no transferring of ingredients and it saves a lot of time and energy. Opening the cooker after a minimum of half an hour makes the dish even better.
  • Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with mixed vegetable raita, coconut curd Pachadi or raw vegetable salad. Your favorite vegetable biryani is ready to be served.
  • This recipe serves 3 people.

Draining Method

You may wonder why I have explained a new (and strange to some people) method of draining water from the rice. I tried the colander method also, but the rice placed in a colander after cleaning did not become as dry as it did when I tried draining the water by making the vessel stand upright on another vessel. But if you cannot do this kind of draining as shown in the pictures above, then colander is the next best alternative and you'll still get a good consistency of rice.

Hope you do try this method of making vegetable biryani and make your family and friends happy. Do post a feedback if you try it out. I would love to know if it turned out well. Happy cooking!


5 stars from 3 ratings of Veg Biryani
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)