VEGETABLE DUM BIRYANI – Slow cooker way.
I have to say this – I love my slow cooker. The flavor that the slow cooking infuses in whatever goes into it is always heavenly. Just throw all the ingredients in the slow cooker and be rest assured it is always going to give you back an absolutely delicious dish back. And cooking in large quantities made me nervous only until my slow cooker came to my rescue; now I sweat no more for cooking for a large party.
So I decided to give the husbands favorite Dum Biryani a try with the slow cooker. I followed the same method I use for the dum biryani in the oven and just substituted the oven with the slow cooker – and what a difference !! It was a winner recipe for sure. Here is the recipe, if you have a slow cooker do give it a try !
RECIPE :
Difficulty Level : Medium Serves : 4-5
INGREDIENTS:
For the Rice:
1. Basmati rice – 2 ½ Cups 2. Cloves – 2 3. Star anise - 1 4. Bay leaf – 1 5. Cardamom – 2 or 3 6. Salt – 1 tsp.
For Grinding: 1. Coriander leaves – ¼ Cup (finely chopped) 2. Mint – ¼ cup (finely chopped) 3. Onions – 1 medium 4. Green Chilli – 2 or 3 5. Garlic – 4-5 small cloves 6. Ginger – 1 small piece
Vegetables – I used the cauliflower / broccoli mix bag from Costco. It has 1. Cauliflower 2. Brocolli 3. Carrots 4. Peas 5. Yellow squash and also added some 6. Fresh beans – ½ Cup roughly cut. 7. Mushrooms – ¼ cup.
Other Ingredients:
1. Saffron – 1 tsp. 2. Warm Milk – 3-4 Tbsp. 3. Onions – 2 medium 4. Tomato pulp – ¼ cup 5. Yogurt – 1 Cup. 6. Chilli powder – 1 Tbsp. 7. Garam masala – 1 tsp. 8. Coriander and mint –For garnishing( finely chopped ) 9. Cashews , Almonds and Raisins – ¼ Cup.
10. Oil - 3-4 Tbsp.
METHOD:
1. Soak the basmati rice for at least half an hour. 2. Add all the items under ‘For the Rice’ in a rice cooker and add 5 cups of water in the ratio 1:2 and cook until the rice is 80% done. 3. Add all the items under ‘For Grinding’ in a mixer and grind it in to a fine paste. 4. Slice the onions in to very thin and long slices, add little oil and fry them in a medium flame until the it turns brown (gets caramelized). This will take 10-12 mins. Set it aside. 5. For the vegetable mix, heat a pan, add 2-3 Tbsp. of oil , add the vegetables and the masala paste from step 3, add whole spices or garam masala , yogurt ,
salt and cook until all the vegetables are almost done. 6. Now to the fun part, grease the slow cooker with some oil. 7. Add a layer of the rice , one layer of veggies , another layer of rice and one more layer of veggies. 8. Soak the saffron in warm milk, it will turn the milk yellow. Pour this on top. 9. Add the caramelized onions and the chopped mint/coriander layer. 10. Roast the dry fruits in ghee and add that layer on top of it. 11. Cover and cook on High for 2 hours.
By now all of your kitchen will be filled with the aroma of biryani. It’s time to serve everyone the awesomatic veg. dum biryani.
