Dum Briyani(Layered Briyani)

Dum Briyani is layered rice, where rice and vegetables are cooked separately and slow cooked to diffuse the spices into them. It has a unique flavor compared to the normal vegetable pulav that we make as a one pot meal.
I had always wanted to try this at home but it seemed like a big process whenever I intended to do it. But it is not that tough as it looks like. But today I finally made it from this recipe with little modifications.The preparation time is more only because of the slow cooking that we do. So you can easily sit back with a book when that is going on :-)

Ingredients

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 1 cup of veggies cut length wise 
• 1 onion(cut length wise)
• 1 tomato
• Spice powders- a tsp each of chilly, coriander & turmeric powders
• 1 tbsp of garam masala
• 1 tsp of chopped ginger garlic
• a cup of curd/yogurt
• whole spices(Bay leaf, cinnamon,pepper,jeera & cumin seeds)
• one bunch of pudina
• 2-3 green chilies slit
• few strands of fresh coriander leaves
• salt to taste

Method

• First wash the rice and drain the water. Let it sit for around 20 minutes.
• Take the yogurt in a large bowl and add all the spice powders,half of the garam masala and little salt.
• Mix thoroughly and add the vegetables to it.(Add water if your yogurt is thick)
• Refrigerate this for 30 minutes
• Take a stock pot/pressure cooker and fry the whole spices with ghee/butter.
• Add the rice and fry again for a few minutes.
• Add salt & water required for the rice.(1:2 ratio)
• Cook till rice is done(you can pressure cook it too).Rice should be fluffy and not sticky. Keep aside and do not cover it.
• Take a kadai and add little ghee or oil, add ginger garlic and fry for a few minutes.
• Add pudina leaves , green chilies and onions one by one.
• Cook till onions are golden brown.
• Now add the tomatoes and fry for a few minutes.
• Then put in the veggies along with the yogurt.
• Cook covered in medium heat till the veggies are tender.Add the remaining garam masala & enough salt for this mixture.When this is done, then comes the fun part of layering !
• Pre heat oven to 150 degree Celsius and line a baking tray with aluminium foil.
• Add half of the rice, then the vegetables and then the remaining half of rice on top.
• Press firmly so that everything sits tight. You can sprinkle some fried cashews or fried onions on top.
• Cover the tin with aluminum foil again and keep in the oven for around 30 minutes.

Serving suggestions

• Serve hot with raitha of your choice

Tips

• The oven time varies depending on your quantity and flavor. Adjust accordingly.