
Vegetable Biryani with video
 Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 20 Mins | Serves: 2-3
  Basmati Rice  1 cup   Mixed veggies*  1 and 1/2 cup   Water  1 and 1/4 cup   Red chili powder  3/4 tsp   Ginger  a small piece   Garlic  3-4 pods   Mint leaves  a handful   Sombu | fennel  1/4 tsp   Bay leaf | cardamom 1   Onion  1   Tomato  1/2    Oil  2 tblsp    Ghee  1/2 tsp    Salt  as needed *I used carrot, beans, green peas and potato. You can add cauliflower, frozen corn, broccoli,butter beans and capsicum too.   Â

Method:
- Wash the rice and soak it for 20 minutes in 1 and 1/4 cup of water.
- Mean time chop the veggies and slice the onions and tomatoes.
- Grind the mint leaves, fennel , ginger, and garlic into a very fine paste.( use little water from the soaked water in the rice for grinding. Do not add extra water.)
- In a pressure cooker add oil and ghee and add in the cardamom pods and add the sliced onions.
- When it turns translucent add in the tomatoes. Saute for a few minutes .
- Add the ground mint paste and saute for few minutes in a low flame . Let the raw smell of the garlic disappear.
- Add the chopped veggies and mix well so that the masala will get coated to the veggies nicely.
- Add in the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, and salt. You can use sambar powder too instead of red chilli powder.
- Mix well. Keep the soaked water aside and add the rice only and saute for 2 minutes.
- Now add in the water and keep the cooker closed. Let this cook till one whistle and after that keep it in a very low flame for 5 to 7Â minutes. Biryani will be ready.
- Fluff it up with fork and serve hot with any raitha of your choice. I highly recommend to enjoy this biryani with Kothamalli thokku or Pudina Thogayal .

Note:
- You can replace red chilli powder with sambar powder.
- My mom grinds 2-3 green chillies along with the mint leaves and don’t add red chilli powder or sambar powder.
- You can skip adding turmeric powder too.
- My mom grind few coriander leaves too.
- Bay leaves can be added while adding cardamom.