Vegetable Biryani

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 cups Basmati Rice
• 1 cup Mixed Vegetable (brocolli, baby carrot, peas, sweetcorn and red peppers)
• 4 baby potatoes
• 1 Onion
• 4-5 Fresh Green Chillies
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp Cinnamon and cloves ground powder
• 3 cups of tomatoes ( I used tinned tomatoes)
• 2 tbsp Cooking Oil ( I used sunflower oil)
• 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
• half a cup of peanuts, cashews and almond mixture
• Pinch of saffron

Method:

1. Wash and soak the rice for a minimum of 20 minutes.

2. Wash and chop all the vegetables (except the potatoes)  into small pieces.

3. Wash and boil the baby potatoes in their jackets.

4. Chop the cashews and almonds in halves.

5. Roast the peanuts lightly and remove their husks. This can be done in the microwave. I cooked them for a minute at a time for 3 minutes.

6. On one cooker hob, start to cook the rice.  When nearly cooked – add the saffron to give it an aromatic smell.

7. On a second cooker hob: Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and stir for about half minute. Then add onions and cook them for a couple of minutes.

8. Add fine chopped tomatoes.

9. Now add the salt, chilly powder, turmeric and the cinnamon and cloves powder.

10. Once the tomatoes have cooked, add the vegetables and the nuts to the mixture but not the potatoes.

11. Peel the baby potatoes, cut them into halves and lightly brown them under the grill using a small amount of oil. The idea is to make them look like roasted potatoes. So you can fry them or toast them in a frying fan as well if you prefer. Once ready, leave aside to add to the biryani.

12. The rice and vegetables should now be cooked.

13. In a baking dish, make a layer of cooked rice. Top this with a layer of cooked vegetables. Add some of the roasted potatoes to the vegetables. Cover the vegetables with a layer of rice. Finish with a layer of vegetable and roasted potatoes.

15. Once ready, garnish the Vegetable Biryani  with slices of onions and lemon and some fresh green chillies.

16. Serve the Vegetable Biryani hot with Naan bread and raita or khadhi.