Biryani: Hot spicy and colourful

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 cups Basmati rice
• 2 cups mixed vegetables (I used frozen mixed vegetables with carrots, peas, green beans, sweet peppers and sweet corn)
• 1 medium potato
• 1 medium onion
• 2 fresh green chilies finely blended
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 3-4 cloves of garlic – blended
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• Pinch of saffron (optional)
• 2 tsp cinnamon and cloves ground powder (optional)
• 1 cup of blended tomatoes (I used Passata)
• 3-4 tablespoons of natural Greek style yogurt. (vegans can use plain soya yogurt)
• 2 tbsp cooking oil ( Use 4-6 squirts spray oil if you are on a diet)
• 2 tbsp melted butter (leave out if you are on a diet) or vegan spread
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds

For garnishing:

• Half a cup of almonds
• 1 yellow sweet pepper sliced
• 1 small onion cut into slices
• 1 handful of baby tomatoes

Method:

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

2. Wash and chop all the vegetables into very small cubes.

3. Cut the almonds in halves (lengthwise) and set aside for the garnishing.

4. First cook the rice. To get nice fluffy rice, soak the rice and cook it with plenty of water –like you would cook pasta. Add salt and a teaspoon of oil to the rice. When it’s nearly cooked, add in the saffron and strain the rice using a sieve. The rice should have a lovely pale yellow colouring. Allow the rice to cool.

5. Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. ( If you are dieting and use spray oil,  then don’t add the mustard seeds and just add the onions and cook them for a minute and add your vegetables) Once the mustard seeds start popping, add onions and cook them for a couple of minutes. Add rest of the vegetables including the blended ginger, garlic and green chilies. Add the spices – salt, chili powder, turmeric and the cinnamon and cloves powder.

6. Once the vegetables have cooked, add in the Greek style yogurt and stir. Cook this for a couple of minutes and add in the blended tomatoes or Passata and allow the mixture to cook gently for 5 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Centigrade (or 300 degrees Fahrenheit)

8. In a baking dish, make a layer of the cooked vegetables. Cover the vegetables with a layer of rice. Layer the rice with the rest of the vegetables and finish with a layer of rice.