Restaurant Style Hyderabadi Vegetables Dum Biryani

Restaurant Style Hyderabadi Vegetables Dum Biryani is nothing like a good plate of aromatic biryani! This Vegetable Biryani hits all the right spots with its wonderful aroma and exotic flavors!

Loaded with veggies, crunchy cashews, warm spices like saffron, herbs like cilantro and mint, this biryani is a delight to the taste buds in every bite!

So, I know that more often that not, vegetable biryani is looked down upon.

I have often heard people call it “pulao” and claiming that an actual biryani should have meat in it.

While I don’t know how accurate that claim is, I still think that a very good Vegetable Biryani is very much possible which is very different from a pulao.

For me pulao is a short cut one-pot meal (like this beetroot pulao) which I make when I am in mood for easy dinner.

On the other hand, I make biryani for special occasions. It’s a multi-step process, takes time and is not something I would make for a weekday dinner.

I can 100% guarantee you that even if you don’t think much of veg biryani, this one will change your mind!

It’s super flavorful, packed with so many flavors and will entice your taste buds in every bite!

I won’t say this is an easy or super quick recipe because it’s not.

The recipe takes time, there are multiple steps. So reserve this dish for special occasions.

It is well worth the effort though, that much I can guarantee!

What is Restaurant Style Hyderabadi Vegetables Dum Biryani

Biryani is a rice dish made with layers of rice, spices and traditionally meat (but it our case veggies!).

Here are the key components of biryani:

Rice: of course rice is the base and key ingredient of this dish. Long grain basmati rice is what is traditionally used.

I highly recommend using extra-long grain aged basmati rice for biryani. I use the Zebra Sella Basmati Rice and it works so well.

Veggies: so traditionally meat is used in biryani but since we are making veg biryani, we are using assorted vegetables here.

I have used potato, cauliflower, beans and carrots.

You can use green peas, mushrooms or even paneer would be a good addition.

Spices: aromatic and exotic spices (both whole and ground) are a must for a good biryani. Most commonly used are cardamom, peppercorns, cumin, saffron, garam masala.

Also rose water or kewra water is often used to flavor the biryani.

Fresh herbs & nuts: herbs like mint, cilantro and nuts like cashews are often added as garnishing and to add more texture and flavors to the biryani.

Caramelized onions also make a great addition.

The veggies and rice are layered and the biryani is then cooked on low heat with some heavy object placed on top of the pot of biryani.

This process is called “dum” and hence it’s also known as Vegetable Dum Biryani.

Tips to Make Restaurant Style Hyderabadi Vegetables Dum Biryani

So, now that we know the key components for biryani, let’s see how to make restaurant style vegetable biryani!

Choose the right rice: long grain basmati rice is what you should be using to make biryani.

My recommendation is Zebra Sella Basmati rice. It has extra long grains and it works perfectly well in biryani..

Using fresh ingredients: like mince your own fresh ginger, garlic and chilies.

I often use store bought ginger-garlic paste when I am short on time but for biryani, I always crush them fresh using my mortar and pestle.

It makes a difference and you would have to trust me on that.

Pan-frying the veggies before cooking them: so before cooking the veggies, I like to pan fry them a little. This gives the veggies a nice texture.

We don’t want over-cooked vegetable in a veg biryani so this extra-step helps.

Using fresh herbs & spices: I really like to flavor my biryani with all the herbs and spices.

So, I use saffron milk (which is made by mixing saffron with warm milk) and also use rose water for the final flavor.

Of course, I also use plenty of cilantro and mint.

Drizzle ghee on top: I like to drizzle some ghee as I layer the biryani. It really elevates the flavor.

Don’t forget to drizzle some extra ghee on top before cooking the biryani at the last step.

Don’t cut down on the fat: this is not health food you guys, so don’t cut down on steps like frying the onions in ghee.

It’s something you make once in a while so no harm in indulging. Right?

Can you Make this Restaurant Style Hyderabadi Vegetables Dum Biryani

Absolutely, super simple!

skip the ghee
replace plain yogurt with non-dairy yogurt (like almond milk yogurt) or with coconut milk
use non-dairy milk to make the saffrom milk

Follow rest of the steps as it is.

also check:Vegetable Fried Rice

So let’s see how make this vegetable biryani!

Prepping rice

1.5 cups basmati rice or 300 grams basmati rice
1 cup water for soaking rice

Prepping Restaurant Style Hyderabadi Vegetables Dum Biryani

For or cooking biryani rice

For biryani gravy

For assembling and layering biryani

20 grams coriander leaves or ⅓ cup chopped coriander leaves
5 grams mint leaves or ⅓ cup mint leaves, chopped
4 to 5 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon saffron strands
2 teaspoons kewra water or rose water

Instructions

Preparation

Pick and rinse basmati rice in running water till the water runs clear of starch. Soak the rice in 1 cup of water for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes drain the rice and keep aside.
When the rice is soaking prep all the veggies and other ingredients. Keep aside.

Cooking rice

Take a deep bottomed pan. Add 5 cups water and heat the water on a high flame.
When the water becomes hot, add all the spices and ½ tsp salt – 1 tej patta, 3 green cardamoms, 3 cloves, 1 black cardamom, 1 inch cinnamon, 2 single strands of mace.
Bring the water to a boil. Then add the rice.
Just gently stir with a spoon or fork, after you add the rice.
Do not reduce the flame and continue to cook the rice.
The rice has to be 75% or ¾th cooked. The grains should have a slight bite to them when cooked. The rice should not be fully cooked but almost cooked.
Drain the rice in a colander. Gently fluff and keep aside.

Making vegetable biryani gravy

In a pressure cooker or a pan, heat 3 tbsp ghee. Add the following spices – 1 tsp shah jeera, 1 tej patta, 3 green cardamoms, 3 cloves, 1 black cardamom, 1 inch cinnamon. Sauté the garam masala till they crackle.
Now add the onions. Stir and sauté them on a low to medium flame.
Onions take a lot of time to cook, so add a pinch of salt to quicken the cooking process.
When the onions are cooking, take 1 cup fresh curd/yogurt in a bowl. Beat the curd with a spoon or whisk till it become smooth.
Sauté the onions till they become golden brown or caramelize.
Then add the ginger-garlic paste and sliced green chillies. You can also finely chop the ginger-garlic and add.
Sauté till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
Add the turmeric and red chili powder. Stir and mix well.
Next add the chopped veggies. Sauté for a minute or two.
Add the yogurt. Stir. Then add water.
Season with salt. Stir again.
Pressure cook for 1 whistle on medium flame. If cooking in a pot, then cook till the vegetables are done. Don’t over cook the vegetables.
Warm 4 to 5 tbsp milk in a microwave or in a small pan on the stove top. Add ¼ tsp of saffron strands and nuts. Stir and keep aside.

Layering and making veg biryani

Now in a thick bottomed pan, layer half of the veg biryani gravy first.
Then layer half of the rice.
Sprinkle half of the chopped coriander, mint leaves and saffron milk.
Layer the remaining veg biryani gravy.
Layer the remainder of the rice. Sprinkle the remaining coriander, mint leaves, saffron milk on the top. Sprinkle 2 tsp of rose water or kewra water. You can make 2 layers or 4 layers like I have done. But do remember that rice should be the last layer.

Dum cooking veg biryani

Now seal and secure the pot with aluminium foil. Then cover with a lid. You can also seal the handi with a moist cotton cloth and then cover with the lid.
Take a tava/griddle and heat it on medium flame.
When the tawa become hot, then lower the flame. Keep the sealed veg biryani handi on the tava. Keep the flame to the lowest and cook for 25-30 minutes. You can also dum cook veg biryani for the first 15 minutes on direct low flame and then for the last 10 minutes, place the handi on the hot tava and cook on a low flame.
Once done, give a standing time of 5 to 7 minutes and then serve.
While serving, make sure you equally serve the vegetables as well as rice.
Restaurant Style Hyderabadi Vegetables Dum Biryani with your choice of raita, onion salad, mango pickle, roasted papad. other accompaniments for this biryani are mirchi ka salan and veg shorba gravy

Notes:

firstly, use more ghee for more flavours.
also add in paneer cubes and vegetables of your choice to make it more nutritious.
additionally, use good quality basmati rice for nice texture.
finally, serve veg biryani hot with raita or mirchi ka salan.

NUTRITION

Calories: 533kcal

Carbohydrates: 77g

Protein: 11g:

Fat 21g

Saturated Fat: 8g

Cholesterol: 27mg

Sodium: 935mg

Potassium: 717mg

Fiber: 7g

Sugar: 8g

Vitamin A: 3745IU

Vitamin C: 28.5mg

Calcium: 137mg

Iron: 4mg

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