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Hyderabadi veg biryani recipe
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Hyderabadi Veg Biryani Recipe (Vegetable Dum Biryani)

Learn how to make awesome, flavourful Hyderabad Nawab style veg dum biryani at home with step-by-step photos and practical dum cooking tips.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Biryani, lunch
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 3 servings
Author: Chitra

Ingredients

Basmati Rice & Cooking Water (1 cup = 250 ml)

  • 1 cup Basmati rice (approx. 200 g / 7 oz - I used India Gate)
  • 4 cups Water (approx. 1 liter / 34 fl oz)
  • 2 pieces each Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and black stone flower
  • 1 no. Bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp Ghee (approx. 15 ml)
  • Salt as needed for boiling rice

For Vegetable Marination

  • 1 no. Carrot (approx. 100 g, peeled and cubed)
  • 1 no. Potato (approx. 120 g, peeled and cubed)
  • 1 small piece Cinnamon
  • 1 no. Cardamom
  • 2 nos. Cloves
  • 1 no. Green chilli (slitted - optional, I didn't use)
  • 2 tsp Ginger garlic paste (freshly ground - 8 garlic cloves and 1 1/2 inch ginger)
  • ¾ to 1 tsp Red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp Garam masala powder
  • ⅛ tsp Turmeric powder
  • Salt as needed for vegetable masala
  • 3 tbsp Curd / Plain yogurt (semi-solid, approx. 45 ml / 1.5 fl oz)
  • ½ tbsp Lemon juice
  • handful Finely chopped mint and coriander leaves
  • 3 tbsp Cooking oil (oil in which onions were fried)
  • 1 no. Fried onions (thinly sliced and golden fried)

For Topping & Dum Layering

  • 2 tbsp Warm milk with soaked saffron strands (approx. 30 ml / 1 fl oz)
  • 2 tbsp Finely chopped mint and coriander leaves
  • ½ no. Fried onions (reserved for garnish)
  • 5 tbsp Reserved cooked rice water (to drizzle around edges)

Instructions

  • Wash and soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Wash and peel the skin of potato and carrot. Cut them into small cubes (I chopped like the way served in Hyderabad biryani house). Set aside. Slice onions. Soak saffron threads in warm milk.
  • Heat cooking oil in a pan and deep-fry the onion slices. Fry till golden brown and remove onto a plate. Do not burn them, just fry carefully on medium flame.
    Deep frying thinly sliced onions until golden brown for biryani
  • Remove half of the roasted onions and reserve it for final garnishing.
    Crispy golden fried onions birista for biryani garnish
  • In a non-stick kadai or heavy-bottomed pot, take the chopped veggies. Add cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, curd, garam masala powder, salt, half the fried onions, lemon juice, 3 tbsp oil in which onions were fried, finely chopped mint and coriander leaves. Mix well and check for taste. Let this mixture marinate for 30 to 45 minutes.
    Marinating chopped vegetables in curd, spices, fried onions and lemon juice
  • In the meantime, boil 4 cups of water in a wide pot and add the drained, soaked basmati rice. In the water, add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, black stone flower, bay leaf, 1 tbsp of ghee along with half the salt for rice. (Add salt carefully because we have added salt in veggie masala too).
    Boiling basmati rice with whole spices and ghee in water
  • Let the rice cook on medium flame for 20 minutes. By now rice will be cooked to 80%. Check whether the rice breaks but it should be firm in shape. Remove the rice alone and keep the water. Do not discard it.
    Draining parboiled basmati rice cooked to 80 percent
  • Now layer the 80% cooked rice over the marinated masala mixture. Add the reserved rice cooked water all around the rice. I added around 5 tbsp of water. Please note the quantity of water may vary as per the water quantity retained in masala, so make sure you don't add more water or it will make the rice mushy.
    Layering parboiled basmati rice over marinated vegetables
  • Add the saffron soaked milk and finely chopped mint and coriander leaves on top.
    Topping biryani layer with saffron milk, mint and coriander leaves
  • Close the kadai with a tight lid or plate so that steam does not escape. Keep a weight over the plate (I kept a bowl with water, or you can even place a heavy stone).
    Dum cooking hyderabadi biryani covered with tight lid and heavy weight
  • Switch on the flame and turn it to very low. Let the biryani cook in very low flame for 20 to 25 minutes. No need to open in the middle, but make sure you don't get any burning smell. Your house will be completely covered with an awesome aroma of biryani when it's cooked! Now remove the plate, gently fluff the rice with a fork, garnish with the remaining fried onions and serve hot.

Notes

  • Add more red chilli powder for extra spicy taste. But we felt 1 tsp is enough and it was spicy too.
  • If you want to make this biryani for around 10 people, you can use 3 cups of rice and just increase the spices (use 2.5 times quantity mentioned above). Check for taste and add more chilli powder, garam masala accordingly. I have not tried these measures. I am just giving with a rough calculation as one of my friends suggested me to add this point in all my biryani posts which would be helpful for people making biryani for parties and get together.