A Recipe for Taste, Health and Patience.

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Food is more than a basic necessity to me. A luxury to rejoice. My experiments with food started when I was 15 years old .Before that though one could always find me  around the kitchen frequently, mixing veggies for a salad/scooping pulp for fruit juice or helping my mom with little chores ,trying my hands on a fully fledged recipe came much later . May be my mom  was waiting for an exact time to pass on her cooking secrets to me. *wink*.

Indian cuisine is my all time favourite .Though I have tried almost every famous cuisine across world spanning from Italian to Israeli, Chinese to continental, Persian to Mediterranean and enjoyed them like there was no tomorrow, my taste buds thank me for Indian spices I pamper them with. The magic of spices and the vast variety of  Indian food from appetizers to desserts has seamlessly quenched my love for food.

With my apron on,here i invite you all to peek into my kitchen as I present the noble and grand Indian Veg biryani.

PS: I have modified the elaborate method unlike restaurant version of Biryani  to keep it simple and easy too.

Cooking Time : 30-45 minutes

Servings : 4

Ingredients:

Basmati rice soaked	1 1/2 cups
Onions diced	2 medium
Carrots 1/2 inch pieces	2 medium
French beans 1/2 inch pieces	15
Cauliflower	10-12 florets
Green peas shelled	1 cup
Salt to taste
Green cardamons	4
Cloves	8
Cinnamon 1/2 inch stick	1
Bay leaf	1
Ginger-garlic paste	1 1/2 tablespoons
Turmeric powder	1 teaspoon
Red chilli powder	1 tablespoon
Coriander powder	1 tablespoon
Yogurt	1/2 cup
Fresh tomato puree	1 cup
Garam masala powder	1 teaspoon
Fresh coriander leaves chopped	2 tablespoons
Fresh mint leaves chopped	2 tablespoons
Lemon juice	1 teaspoon
Canola/Sunflower oil	Upto 6 teaspoons

Method:

Step 1

Boil the soaked rice in salt water into which 5 cloves, cinnamon stick, 2 cardamoms and a bay leaf are added. This makes the rice flavourful. The water to rice measurement is 2:1. Drain the excess water after the rice is 75% cooked (10-12 minutes after adding the rice to boiling water).

Step 2                                                 

•  Can be done in parallel with step 1,when the rice is getting  cooked.
• Preheat a vessel with a broad base on a medium flame, add 6 spoons of oil. Once the oil is heated add 2 cardamoms, 4 cloves, diced onions.
• Once the onions turn golden brown, add ginger-garlic paste, pinch of salt and turmeric.
• Stir the mixture until the raw smell of garlic and ginger is gone.
• Add all the veggies along with peas into the vessel and cook them for 4-5 minutes.
• Into this mixture, add chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder (all in measurements mentioned in the table above) and give them a quick stir. 
•  Make sure the masalas are not burnt (they taste really bad when they burn).Adding half a cup of water helps here to prevent burning of masala.Simmer the flame and cook the entire mix for 8-10 minutes without closing the lid.
• Add yogurt, tomato puree and cook until its thickened.
• As a final step, add a teaspoon of lemon juice to this.(I love  the citric taste in anything).

S    Step 3

    Arrange hot, drained rice over vegetables, cover a tight-fitting lid and bake until rice and vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover, carefully transfer contents of pot to a large bowl and toss together gently. Spoon into bowls and serve garnished with chopped mint and coriander leaves (In addition, fried onions and cashews are good too but they are optional anyway )

There you go to enjoy the royal taste of Vegetable biryani. It’s best with a cup of Raitha.

Raitha recipe: A cup of yogurt into which  finely chopped cucumber, coriander, onions and tomatoes and salt to taste is added is the quickest and simple form of raitha.

You will thank me for the heavenly and  yummy taste. One needs patience to get this done as the list of ingredients is elaborate and involves some time investment to chop the veggies.But believe me,every minute spent is worth it. The nutritional benefits of the ingredients used are also high since it contains a lot of veggies. 

So, tell me how do like it? 

Linking up with Day 7: Write Tribe Festival