Make Veg Biryani, an authentic Indian vegetarian recipe full of your favorite rice, veggies and spices at home

Made with patience and lots of love, this delicious veg dum biryani requires both care and attention to detail. The savory flavors in your first bite are well worth the time and effort spent in the kitchen.

In simple words Biryani is a rice and curry casserole. The curry can be meat based or vegetable based.

How to Make Veg Biryani

Soak the Rice

1. First, rinse 1.5 cups of basmati rice (300 grams) in clean water until the water runs clear of starch. You can use a bowl or colander to rinse the rice. Make sure you soak the rice grains in water for 30 minutes after rinsing them.

2. Once the rice has been able to soak for 30 minutes, drain all the water and set aside.

3. While the basmati rice is soaking, use that time to prep the other ingredients. First, you will want to rinse, peel and chop all of the veggies. This will make the process of cooking go by much quicker.

• Onion: Slice 1 large onion thinly (about 1 heaped cup thinly sliced onion).
• Ginger: Finely chop or crush 10 grams ginger (2 pieces of 2 inch ginger or 1.5 tablespoons finely chopped ginger). You should get 1 tablespoon of ginger paste.
• Garlic: Finely chop or crush 5 grams garlic (10 to 12 medium garlic cloves or 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic). You will need ½ tablespoon garlic paste.
• Chilies: Slit 3 to 4 green chilies.
• Cilantro: Chop coriander leaves (cilantro) and mint leaves. You should get ⅓ cup each of chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves.

4. After you have organized and chopped all of your vegetables, it is time to cook the basmati rice. You can use any method to cook your rice – microwave, pressure cooking, instant pot or cooking in a pot. If cooking your rice in a pot, use a deep bottomed pan and add 5 cups water.

5. When the water is hot, add all the spices and 1 teaspoon salt. Here's what you want to include for your veg dum biryani in this step:

• 1 tej patta
• 3 green cardamoms
• 3 cloves
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 inch true cinnamon or 1 inch cassia cinnamon
• 2 single strands of mace

6. After adding the ingredients, bring the water to a boil on a high heat.

7. Now it is time to add the rice for your veg biryani to the spice mixture in the pot.

8. Gently stir with a spoon or fork after you add the soaked basmati rice. Check the taste of water and ensure it is slightly salty.

9. Do not reduce the heat and continue to cook the rice grains.

10. The rice should not be fully cooked, but a bit undercooked or about 75% or ¾ of the way cooked.

11. Drain the semi-cooked rice in a colander. You can also rinse them gently with water so that the grains stop cooking.

Make Vegetable Gravy

12. In a 2-litre pressure cooker or a pan, heat 3 tablespoons of ghee, then add the following spices. Sauté the whole spices until they crackle. You can make the vegetable gravy in a pan as well.

1 teaspoon shah jeera (caraway seeds)

1 tej patta

3 green cardamoms

3 cloves

1 black cardamom

1 inch cinnamon

13. Next, add the sliced onions.

14. Stir and sauté the onions on a low to medium heat. Onions can take a long time to cook, so add a pinch of salt to quicken the cooking process. Stirring often sauté the onions, so that they cook evenly.

16. When the onions are cooking, take 1 cup fresh curd or yogurt in a bowl. Beat the curd with a spoon or whisk until it becomes smooth.

17. Sauté the onions until they become golden brown or caramelize. Try not to burn them.

18. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sliced green chilies. You can also finely chop the ginger-garlic and add if desired.

19. Sauté the mixture for some seconds until the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.

20. Add the ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne. Stir and mix well.

21. Next add the chopped veggies.

21. Mix thoroughly and sauté veggies for 1 to 2 minutes.

22. Lower the heat and add the beaten yogurt or curd. Stir as soon as you add the curd.

23. Then add ½ cup of water in the pressure cooker. If you decide to cook the veggies in a pot, add ¾ cup water.

25. Pressure cook for 1 whistle or 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat. If cooking in a pot, then cook until the veggies are done. Don't overcook the vegetables.27. Add 2 tablespoons cashews, 1 tablespoons raisins and 2 tablespoons almonds (blanched or raw) to the vegetable gravy.

28. Mix, stir, and set aside.

29. While the veggies are cooking, warm 4 to 5 tablespoons of milk in a microwave or in a small pan on the stove top. Add ¼ teaspoon of saffron strands. Stir and set aside.

30. Now in a thick bottomed pan, layer half of the vegetable curry first.

31. Then layer half of the semi cooked rice.

33. Layer the remaining gravy.

34. Layer the remainder of the rice, and sprinkle the remaining coriander leaves (cilantro), mint leaves, saffron milk on the top. You can also sprinkle 2 teaspoon of rose water or kewra water (pandanus extract) at this point.