Vegetable biriyani in cooker

Cooker briyani is very common among Tamilnadu people.Though biriyani experts won't accept it as a real briyani, I love this version because of the taste and simplicity. If we have all the ingredients in hand, we can make this briyani within an hour.'Cooker briyani' may be my first dish under the supervision of my mom. Nothing can beat mom's simple cooker biriyani and I can never achieved her perfection till now:) Her secrets are very good quality ghee and cashews, which I hesitate to use because of diet. But I am narrating her procedure here. This kind of biriyani has been a challenge to me since I got used to the dhum / tawa process, as we can't check the rice often in cooker method. But tried this for my blog and got it successful. Posting this fool-proof method for those 'briyani lovers' longing for mom's style briyani:)

Vegetable briyani with potato chips and carrot onion raita.

Vegetables:

Cauli flower - 1/4 flower, potato - 1, butter beans(cooked)-1/2 cup ,
green beans - 10 , carrot -1 , green peas - 1/2 cup .

Other Ingredients:

Basmathi rice / Jeeraga samba raw rice - 2 1/4 cups
salt - to taste
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red onion - 1 (big)
green chillis - 5 (slit).
Lemon - 1/4
water - (rice x 2) - 1 = 3 1/2 - curd measure = 3 cups
curd - 1/2 cup

To dry roast and powder:
(or use garam masala powder)

Fennel - 1 tsp
star aniseed - 1/2
kali jeera - 1/4 tsp
cinnamom stick - 2 inch
cardamom - 6
cloves - 4
cumin - 1/4 tsp

To temper: (whole spices)

bay leaves - 2
cashew nuts -10
raisins- 10.
ghee - 5 tbsp

Masala 1:

Tomato - 2

Masala 2:

cilantro- 20 tender plants
mint leaf -1  cup leaves
green chilly - 10
cashew - 5

Masala 3:

Ginger - 2 inch
Garlic - 5 cloves

Preparation:

wash and clean the vegetables. peel the skin of carrot, potato and cut into long thin slices.
Cut the green beans in to long pieces.
Pluck 5 -6 florets from the cauliflower.
Defreeze the green peas.

Wash the rice and soak it for 1/2 an hour.

Grind all the pastes separately.

Chop onion, chilly into long thin slices and keep aside.

Method:

Heat ghee in a broad vessel or cooker.
Add the bay leaves and items given under tempering.
Then goes the chopped onion .
Fry it till golden brown and add the ginger garlic paste and stir well till the raw smell goes.
Now add the tomato paste and cook till the oil oozes out of it.
Then add the cilantro , mint paste and cook till the oil start oozing out. Now put the vegetables and add salt, powdered garam masala. Just stir well. Don't cook them now.
Now add the soaked rice and uncut green chillies to the cooker vessel along with the prepared masala. Squeeze some lime juice over.
Boil the require water separately and pour water, curd, mix well now and check for salt in this stage.Let it come to a boil. (Boiling the water before adding helps in evenly cooking the rice , otherwise sometimes we get some uncooked rice while making briyani).
Close with the cooker lid and put a pressure valve.

(I use a cooker vessel inside the cooker and pour some water around the base cooker, just like idly cooking. Mine is a 10 liter cooker, but we can prepare it directly in cooker if we have a small pressure cooker).

Wait till a whistle comes. Reduce the flame to medium and cook for exactly 5 minutes. Switch off and open lid once the pressure is gone.
Add a little ghee over the biriyani and wait for few minutes. Don't stir now.

Vegetable biriyani in cooker is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Take out the briyani carefully without mashing the whole rice and serve hot.
Serve vegetable biryani hot with onion raitha  and potato chips.
Serves 4 people or more people.

My other briyanis:

Layered vegetable biryani,
Hyderabadi vegetable briyani
vegetable tawa biriyani.

Kathamba Chutney (mixed chutney)

Kadambam / kathambam - mix of varieties; Chutney - Indian dipping.

Even though coconut chutney is a common side dish for Idly , there are many chutnies in my native that will make us vote for the homely Idly dosa. Every ingredient in this chutney is a blessing that makes it healthy and flavorful.

This is my mom's favorite too. I thought it will be nice to publish this as it is her birthday. Some years back, one fine morning my Amutha Anni (Sister inlaw) prepared it with Idly during her first visit. It was a big delight for our taste buds that got used to the regular coconut chutney and also it was her first dish in my dad's home. We were all surprised to see the young doctor preparing that chutney extremely delicious. Mom liked the chutney very much and told everyone she knew of it:) I fondly remember the way she admired anni and after that , this mixed chutney has become my favorite too.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Onion - 1 big
Cilantro / coriander leaf - a small bunch
mint leaf - handful
curry leaf - 2 sprig
tomato - 1
garlic - 2
ginger - 1 inch
cumin - 1/4 tsp
salt - to taste
tamarind - 2 inch
coconut - 1 tbsp
red chilly - 5
black gram - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok.
Fry the dry red chillies, urad dhal (black gram), till the chillies turn glossy and take them out.
In the same wok, add the onion , ginger, garlic and fry till onion gets a golden color.
Add the tomato and cook till it mashes.
At the same time wash the cilantro and mint leaves to remove any impurities.
(I wash thrice or till it runs clear).
Slide in the clantro, curry leaf, mint leaf and stir for a few seconds / till they wilt.
Switch off. Put the salt, cumin, fried chillies, dhal and let them cool.

Grind the ingredients with 1 tbsp water.

Take the chutney in a serving bowl.

In a separate wok pop the mustard seeds in 1 tsp sesame oil, slide in some curry leaves and run over the chutney.

Mixed chutney is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve hot as side dish with idly or dosai.
Also goes well with chapathi.