Name: Pindi Biryani recipe by Amrita Iyer at BetterButter
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: For the Rice:; 1 and 1/2 cup Basmati rice; 2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi); The spice powders:; 1 tsp Clove Powder (Laung); 1 tsp Cardamom Powder (Elaichi); 1 tsp Cinnamon Powder (dalchini); 1/2 tsp Nutmeg Powder (jaiphal); The Tomato paste:; 5 fresh Tomatoes- pureed; 3 tbsp oil; 1 tbsp red chilli powder; 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste; 1 bay leaf (tej patta); 1/2 cup green capsicum, chopped; 1/2 cup Green Peas; 2 tsp salt; 1 Onion, finely chopped; 1 tsp Cumin Powder (jeera); 1 tsp Pepper powder (kali mirch); 1/2 cup Cream; For the layering ingredients:; 1 cup sliced Onions, fried till golden brown (Rista); 1/2 cup thick yogurt; 5-6 saffron strands dissolved in 2 tbsp warm milk; 4-5 drops Kewra essence; 1 cup of mixed Coriander, Mint and Sliced green chillies, finely chopped

ABOUT Pindi Biryani RECIPE

This is a beautiful vegetarian Biryani without the traditional touch of “dum” which deviates from the main procedure! I have also used powdered spices rather than whole as this ensures minimal wastage! This Biryani can be ideally baked in the oven or put to cook over a tawa and it tastes absolutely delicious! This recipe is taken from Nita Mehta’s recipes and I have added a few of my twists to it! This is one of my best recipes till date and it is universally appreciated by my family and friends as well.

Ingredients Serving: 6

For the Rice:
1 and 1/2 cup Basmati rice
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
The spice powders:
1 tsp Clove Powder (Laung)
1 tsp Cardamom Powder (Elaichi)
1 tsp Cinnamon Powder (dalchini)
1/2 tsp Nutmeg Powder (jaiphal)
The Tomato paste:
5 fresh Tomatoes- pureed
3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 bay leaf (tej patta)
1/2 cup green capsicum, chopped
1/2 cup Green Peas
2 tsp salt
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 tsp Cumin Powder (jeera)
1 tsp Pepper powder (kali mirch)
1/2 cup Cream
For the layering ingredients:
1 cup sliced Onions, fried till golden brown (Rista)
1/2 cup thick yogurt
5-6 saffron strands dissolved in 2 tbsp warm milk
4-5 drops Kewra essence
1 cup of mixed Coriander, Mint and Sliced green chillies, finely chopped

Instructions

To prepare the rice, soak the rice for 30 minutes. Heat 1 litre of water in a cooking pot and let it come to a boil. Then add rice, turmeric and salt. Cook till it is 3/4th done, then drain in a colander and wash with cold water to stop the rice from cooking.
Spread this rice on a tray. (Note to reserve 1/2 cup of rice for layering the top.)
To prepare the tomato paste, heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and add all the spice powders, red chilli powder and ginger-garlic paste. Once the paste is fried, add in the tomato puree and stir to mix well.
Cook this puree till it's almost dry and the oil floats on top. Then remove it from the heat.
In another pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil and fry the bay leaf and onion, till it's translucent. Add the chopped capsicum, green peas, cumin, pepper powder and salt. Cover and cook till the vegetables are 3/4th cooked.
Add the prepared tomato puree and mix it well. Cool till it is warm and add the cream, mix to amalgamate. Then mix the 1 cup yellow rice with this masala (except the 1/2 cup rice set aside separately).
To layer the Biryani, mix the saffron milk with the yogurt thoroughly. Use an oven proof glass casserole if cooking in an oven or a Biryani Handi if cooking over the Tawa. Spread 1/2 of the prepared masala rice at the base.
Sprinkle over with 1 tbsp of fried onions, 1 tbsp of coriander-mint-chilli mixture and 1 tbsp of the saffron yogurt. Cover with the remaining masala rice and repeat this process with 1 tbsp of layering ingredients.
Now spread the plain yellow rice over this and top it with the remaining saffron yogurt, coriander-mint-green chilli and fried onions. Sprinkle kewra water on top and cover with a big sheet of aluminium foil. Put on the lid.
To cook the biryani, preheat the oven to 160°C for 15 minutes. Place the casserole inside and cook for 30-35 minutes until the rice and vegetables are done. If cooking on a stove top, preheat the tawa for 10-15 minutes and put on the handi.
To serve, cool the biryani for 15-20 minutes and serve it with raita or any mughlai gravy. I served it with Dum Paneer Kalimirch!

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