This is an awesome recipe taught to me by a Punjabi family man. This is definitely not a traditional hyderabadi biryani, (if you want to see one those amazing dishes being made authentically take a look at the video at the foot of this recipe) however, it tastes amazing – just like the biryani rice that comes from many UK takeaways.

I have been eating this for lunch on a very regular basis! There are a lot of ingredients but please bear with it, it takes about 30 minutes in total and is worth every second! 

Ingredients

  • 500 grams of Basmati rice.
  • 400 grams of your favorite mixed veg (cut small)
  • 125 grams of plain yogurt
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 large Onion chopped.
  • 6 cloves of garlic chopped
  • Small stick of cinnamon
  • About a thumb sized lump of fresh ginger chopped.
  • 6 curry leaves
  • 2 small fresh chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • half a can of Italian passata or chopped tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder.
  • 1 teaspoon of Gram masala
  • 1 teaspoon of salt or as required .
  • 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds.
  • 1 teaspoon of whole cumin seeds.
  • 1 teaspoon of Asafoetida ( Hing )

Easy Biryani Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat
  2. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cinamon and sizzle for a minute until the mustard seeds are popping
  3. Add onion, garlic, ginger, fresh tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and curry leafs. Fry until the onions are soft.
  4. Stir in the chilli powder,hing, turmeric and garam masala – cook for another minute or two.
  5. Add yogurt and mix well
  6. Add tomato passata, sugar and salt. Fry until you start to see the oil separating (about 4/5 minutes)
  7. Add mixed veg and continue cooking for about 10 minutes (until the veg is about half cooked)
  8. Add basamati rice, stir and pour in warm water until the water is about 1/2 inch above the rice
  9. Bring to the boil and simmer gently (without stirring) on a low heat until most of the water has gone (about 10 mins)
  10. Turn off the heat and leave covered for approx another 10 minutes until all of the liquid is evaporated.
  11. Serve and enjoy!