Pakistan – Vegetable Biryani

by Dahiza Umar

INTRODUCTION

Let’s suppose if anything consider a food is heaven , it is the dish of everyone’s love, ”biryani”

Biryani is a popular rice dish in many regions of Asia like Pakistan, India and regions of Subcontinent. It is a dish that make anyone enough to take an extra bite, nevertheless if you are full to the mouth. A plate of biryani is a plate of flavors, traditions, taste and aromas, it is dish of old tradition and is classic enough so I don’t think so it needs introduction to anyone from any region. It is the combination of traditional spices, meat or vegetables and rice to enjoy the treat to full zest.

HOW BIRYANI IS DIFFERENT FROM PULAO?

There are two main rice dishes of the Asia those are biryani and pulao. Both dishes having almost same ingredients except some of those extra ingredients required to make biryani extra spicy. Pulao is a one pot dish in which main ingredients either meat or vegetable cooked in a way to make the broth or stock of it and than rice is add in the same vessel so the dish is very elegant with minimal spices and full of flavors.

Biryani has entirely different mehtod in which rice and meat are cooked separately and than layers are made in the seperate cooking pot of rice and that meat curry and finally mixed it served, it is usually spicy rice with the flavors and aromas are totally different form the pulao and both these dishes has different place of origin but at the end they included in the part of national cuisine of Pakistan.

HISTORY OF BIRYANI

I don’t that either this is a true story or not but it is said that MUMTAZ MAHAL, a wife of legendary king Shah Jahan make her history of invented Biryani in this way this dish consider a true Royal dish supposed to be. Since the Mughals are the true inventor of this dish.

This dish has many many varieties like the origin of the Biryani is from the region of Indian subcontinent so all the majorities of the subcontinent make their own biryani evolved form their taste and cooking method.

VARIETIES OF THE BIRYANI

• Bombay biryani
• Hyderabadi biryani
• Dum biryani
• Karachi biryani
• Sindhi biryani
• Lucknow biryani
• Vegetable biryani
• Kachay gosht k biryani
• And many many more

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg rice ( soaked an hour before )
• 3 carrots cut in cubes
• 2 potatoes cut in cubes
• 1 small cabbage
• 1/2 cup peas
• 2 capsicum cut in cubes
• 2 large onions
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp garlic paste
• 4 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 cup oil
• 4 whole black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 star anise
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 4 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tsp orange food color
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander
• 4 tbsp mint leaves
• 4 green chilies

COOKING METHOD

• Take a cooking pot and add 5 glass of water with some salt, oil and vinegar and boil the rice for 15 minutes until half done.
• Now take another cooking pot add oil and onions in the oil and brown them, after that add garlic ginger paste, tomatoes and saute it for 10 minutes.
• Add all the vegetables together with the 4 glass og water in the onion mixture and add all the spices, let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
• See if the vegetable are completely cooked and water is dried, saute the vegetable in this flavorful gravy until oil comes out on the top.
• Now its time to assemble our vegetable masala and rice together in a pot.
• Take a large vessel and add half of the cooked vegetables than add half rice, add fried onions, sliced ginger, sliced green chilies and some food color.
• Now repeat the step of layering rice and vegetable masala and let it cook on slow heat dum for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes enjoy the meal.

CUISINE : MUGHAL’S CUISINE

COURSE : MAIN COURSE

PREPARATION TIME : 20 MINUTES

COOKING TIME : 40 MINUTES