Briyani

This is one of the first recipes that I learnt to cook.. The good thing about this recipe is this can be the base of any kind of briyani - Vegetable, Egg, Chicken or Mutton.

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 2 cups

Onions - 2 medium (thinly sliced)

G.chillies - 4 (Sliced)

Ginger - 1 inch

Garlic - 4 cloves

Curd - 3 tbsp

Corriander leaves - 1/2 cup (chopped)

Mint Leaves - 1/2 cup

Grated coconut - 2 tbsp

Cinnamon - 1 inch

Cloves - 4

Nutmeg powder-1/4 tsp (optional)

Cardamom - 1

Bay Leaf - 1

Fennel Seeds (sombu/Saunf) - 1 tsp

ghee/oil - 2 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Soak the rice in water for 15 mins.

2. Grind Ginger, garlic, 2 cloves and cardamom together. Also grind the grated coconut eparately to a paste.

3. Heat oil/ghee in a pan. (I use 50/50 oil and ghee)

4. Season with Cinnamon, fennel seeds and the remaining cloves.

5. Once they splutter, add onions and fry until golden brown.

6. Add g.chillies and fry for a few mins.

7. Add the ground paste and fry until the raw smell goes away (approx 3 mins)

8. Now add the chopped corriander leaves and mint leaves and fry for a few mins..

9. Add curd & mix well... at this point you can add the main ingredient (vegetables, Egg or Meat)

For veg briyani - add 1 cup of mixed vegetables (potato, peas, carrot, french beans etc)

10. Fry until the masala mixes well with the vegetables / meat.

11. Add the soaked basmati rice, salt and the ground coconut to this mixture and cook together in a rice cooker.

Serve hot with Veg kurma or Onion Raita.