Beginner Vegetable Biryani Recipe

This is a simple stream-lines version of vegetable Biryani formulated for beginners

Ingredients

Savory warm water

1. Water: 5 Cups
2. Nutmeg powder: ¼ teaspoon
3. Whole Cinnamon Broken up 3"
4. Whole Cloves: 6
5. Black whole cardamom: 6
6. Bay leaves: 3
7: Salt: ½ teaspoon

Sweet aroma milk

1. Milk: ½ cup
2. Cardamom powder: ½ teaspoon
3. Saffron strands: 6

Rice Layer

1. Basmati Rice: 2 Cups
2. Savory warm water: 4 Cups

Vegetable layer

1. Green peas: ½ cup
2. Canned Garbanzo beans drained: ½ cup
3. Salt to taste
4. Cayenne Pepper to taste

Garnish layer

1. French's French fried Onions: ½ Cup
2. Fresh Cilantro chopped: ¼ cup
3. Fresh Peppermint chopped: ¼ cup

Method

Step 1: Savory aroma water.

Bring water to a boil, add Nutmeg, Mace, Cinnamon, Cloves, Black cardamoms, Fennel seeds, Bay leaves (Tej Patta), Black peppercorns, and salt to taste. Turn down heat to simmer. Steep covered for 20 minutes. Strain and remove whole spices.

Step 2: Sweet Aroma milk

Warm milk to 100º F. Crumble saffron and add to milk. Add cardamom powder.

Step 3: Rice

Wash and soak rice for 30 minutes. Drain. Add 4 cups of savory warm aroma water to a heavy bottom pot and bring it to a boil. Simmer covered for about 10 minutes or till almost all the liquid is absorbed. The rice should be more than half way cooked. Keep it covered.

Step 4: Vegetables

Wash and add salt and pepper to peas and garbanzo beans

Step 5: Now we need to prepare items for the garnish layer.

Keep all items separate.

Step 6: Layering

Choose a deep pot to assemble Biryani. Remember the top and bottom layers are always Rice. Lay a layer of rice. Add a bit of savory water and sweet milk in circular motion, add a layer of peas and garbanzo beans, add a 'garnish layer'. Now start over with the layer of rice. If it is the top layer of the rice, add the savory warm and sweet waters as before and the garnish layer. Seal the Biryani pot with Aluminum foil.

Step 7: Baking

Preheat oven to 425º F. Place the Biryani pot in the oven for ten minutes. Turn down the oven temperature to 275º F. You can remove the pot after 15 minutes. You can also use this as a holding temperature for about one hour. Remove the pot from the oven 15 minutes before service. At the time of service, break the seal (remove the aluminum foil).