My way of making a vegetable biryani

This is a dish we in home resort to doing in weekends or whenever we have craving for hot spicy food.  Also done on those days when we cannot have any meat based dishes. This is spicy yet very comforting and soothing with yoghurt/ raita, some salad, papad, pickle or even a nice curry. But my favourite alongside vegetable biryani is the humble coconut chutney and just boiled eggs! Comforting to the fullest!! (The recipe of coconut chutney for vegetable biryani is given below)

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice

1 medium sized onion

1 big tomato

1 cup of chopped vegetables of your choice (carrot, beans, peas, potato, babycorn, cauliflower, broccoli etc)

1 ts fennel seed, 2 bay leaves, 2 cloves, 1 star anise, 1 small cinnamon stick

1/4 ts turmeric powder
1/2 ts chilli powder (optional)

1/4 ts hing
1/4 cup coconut milk (optional)

To grind
1 inch ginger piece
3 garlic cloves
2 green chillies
Handful of mint leaves

Grind them to a coarse paste without adding water.

Preparation

- Wash and soak basmati rice in water for half an hour
- Heat oil in a pan. Once hot add fennel seeds, bay leaf, cloves, star anise and cinnamon stick.
- After they turn aromatic, add finely chopped onions and saute them until they turn translucent.
- Add the ground paste, hing and fry them for a minute.
- Add  finely chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder and a little  salt. Cook them until the tomatoes turn mushy.
- Add the chopped vegetables now. Mix everything well and cook in high flame for 2 minutes.
- Then close the pan and cook the vegetables in a medium flame for about 5 minutes until they are 3/4th cooked.
- Now add rice, enough salt, coconut milk and enough water.
- Let them come to a boil.
- Then keep the pan covered in simmer. Wait for the rice to get done.

Dig in!! And enjoy every mouthful of this awesome rice!

COCONUT CHUTNEY FOR VEGETABLE BIRYANI

Ingredients
2 tbs roasted gram
4-5 tbs grated coconut
3 green chillies
1/4 ts tamarind paste (adjust according to taste)
1/4 ts hing
Few mint leaves and coriander leaves
Few curry leaves (optional)
1/2 ts mustard seed, 1/2 ts urad dal
Sesame oil as per need

Preparation

- Grind roasted gram into a fine powder.
- Next add grated coconut, green chillies, hing and salt. Grind everything along without adding any water. Then add sufficient water and give it a pulse.
- Add mint leaves, coriander leaves and curry leaves and grind everything into a smooth paste.
- Take them out in a serving bowl.
- Temper oil with mustard seed and urad dal.
- Pour them over the chutney and give a good mix.