Pressure Cooker Biryani

The tantalizing fragrance of sautéed spices combined well with aromatic Basmati rice – this monsoon, pamper your taste buds with this incredibly flavoursome biryani!

How many times have you had to explain to someone why you won’t eat those mischievous peas from the curry or those moist tomato slices from the burger or the rough sides of a slice of bread or… those funny-smelling papaya pieces from an otherwise inviting fruit salad?

In case you cannot relate or need some more context, the aforementioned vegetables and fruits fall under my special list titled ‘Foods I dread’. Not so long ago, the very peas that I dislike, went into the making of this recipe. So if you want to omit peas, I of all the people will definitely understand why you chose to do so. 😛

Recently, I decided to make a healthier version of this scrumptious dish that draws everybody’s attention: biryani. With the trying fish ban period in Goa and ultimately no access to fresh prawns and it being a Monday (a compulsory veg day for us at home), it had become obvious that the curtain had been drawn over my huge craving for prawn biryani, that day. After some self-coaxing, I decided to go ahead and cook vegetable biryani. In a pressure cooker. 🙂

I love gorging on platefuls of biryani and this day was going to be no different. Except, I wasn’t very excited about piling up extra pounds after a hefty meal. As I casually walked towards the kitchen shelves, my eyes fell upon some brown Basmati rice that had been sitting sadly in a corner. Maybe it was only my imagination, but I felt the container grow a teeny bit happier as soon as I picked it up. Like a concerned mother that wants her child to be included in playtime, my mother commanded me to include peas in the biryani. The peas looked at me teasingly, implying my defeat and I glared back at them with scornful eyes! How dare they poke fun at me!

Coming back to the biryani, here’s the recipe for the wonderful smelling Mughal delicacy that will keep you on your toes with your frequent trips to the kitchen.

Pressure Cooker Vegetable Biryani

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 1 hr 30 minutes
• Difficulty: Medium
• Print

A rich, incredibly flavoursome biryani recipe perfect for a rainy afternoon.

Ingredients

– 1 and ½ cup brown rice

– 2 big onions, cut lengthwise

– 2 carrots, cut lengthwise

– ¼ cup peas

– 3 small potatoes, cut into cubes

– 1 tomato, cut into small pieces

– 1 capsicum, cut into small pieces

– 2 to 3 bay leaves

– 1 cardamom

– 2 inch cinnamon

– 1 star anise

– 7 to 8 cloves

– 5 to 6 peppercorns

– ½ tsp pepper powder

– ½ tsp cumin powder

– 2 to 2 ½ cups of yoghurt

– 1 onion, thinly sliced for frying and garnishing

– 1 inch ginger and 5-6 garlic cloves to give 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

– 4 veg Maggi cubes

– ½ to 1 tsp turmeric powder

– ½ to 1 tsp chilli powder

– 1 tsp biryani masala

– Ghee/Clarified butter

– Cooking oil

– Salt to taste

Directions

1. Soak 1 and 1/2 cups of regular/brown Basmati rice in water for 30 to 45 minutes.
2. In a heated pressure cooker, add 3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter). Add 2-3 tbsp cooking oil.
3. Add in 2-3 bay leaves, 2 inches cinnamon stick, 7-8 cloves, 5-6 peppercorns, 1 cardamom, and 1 star anise. Stir on low flame.
4. Add in two large onions, cut lengthwise. Stir on low-medium flame. Add in 1/2 tsp pepper powder and 1/2 tsp cumin powder. Stir until the onion turns pinkish-brown.
5. Add in 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste. Stir well. Now add in 1 chopped tomato, followed by a pinch of salt (not too much).
6. Add in green peas, 3 small potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes, 2 carrots (cut in inch long strips), and 1 capsicum (cut into small pieces). Stir well. Invert the lid of the cooker and cover the cooker with it so that the vegetables get cooked, for around 10 minutes.
7. After 10 minutes, pour in 2 and 1/2 cups of yoghurt (You may reduce/adjust the quantity as per your liking and sourness of the curd). Stir well.
8. Add in 4 Maggi veg cubes, powdered using a mortar and pestle. If Maggi cubes are unavailable, substitute with 2 tbsp of Biryani masala.
9. Add in 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp of chilli powder, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of cumin powder, and 1/2 to 1 tsp of Biryani masala. Stir well.
10. Add in the soaked rice such that it is spread evenly. Sprinkle some red chilli powder/Biryani masala, a pinch of salt (NOTE: The Maggi cubes have salt in them). Pour 2 tbsp of ghee over the rice. Add 2 cups of water. Cover with the pressure cooker lid and put the whistle on.
11. After 3 whistles, let the biryani sit for some time until the pressure inside drops. Help yourself with a generous serving of hot biryani with raita as an accompaniment. 🙂