potato biryani | Aloo biryani

aloo dum biryani cooked in the hyderabadi style
Hyderabadi recipes are well known for their great aroma and rich taste. Dum biryani acquire the best fragrance of the spices due to the dum process, on a low flame, trapping the steam inside the utensil to retain the best aroma and taste.

Ingredients (240 ml cup used)

• 3 medium sized potatoes peeled and cubed.or 9 to 10 baby potatoes pricked with fork randomly
• Fistful of fried onions (you can use store bought)
• 2 green chilies slit
• Fistful of coriander leaves chopped
• Fistful of mint leaves chopped
• Few strands of saffron soaked in 2 tbsps. milk

3 tbsps. oil or ghee

dry spices

• 1 bay leaf
• 2 green cardamoms
• 1* 2 inch cinnamon
• 4 cloves
• ½ tsp shahi jeera (black cumin)
• 1 star anise

6 pepper corn

Marination ingredients

• ¾th cup yogurt
• ½ tbsp. red chili powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ¾thtbsp. Ginger garlic paste
• ½ to ¾ tbsp. biryani masala or garam masala powder

Salt to taste

for cooking rice

• 1 tsp. oil (optional)
• 1 ½ cups basmathi or any long grain fragrant rice
• 1 star anise
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cloves
• 1* 2 inch cinnamon
• 3 green cardamom
• ¼ tsp shahi jeera (black cumin)
• Few pepper corn
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Add ghee or oil in a pan and fry them till they are almost cooked. It takes around 10 mins. If the potatoes are from cold storage, cook them well by sprinkling water otherwise they will be uncooked in the biryani.
2. Add the cooked potatoes to the marination ingredients and marinate for at least an hour to one hour . Keep this aside
3. Wash and soak rice for 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Add spices, salt and oil if needed to 4 cups of boiling water and cook rice until it is cooked al dente or ¾ th cooked, not mushy. Drain off the rice and set aside.
5. Add ghee to a biryani pot or pan, fry green chilies and spices till they sizzle
6. Add the marinated potatoes along with the yogurt, cook till the potatoes are tender, just cooked and not mushy. If required sprinkle water little to cook the potatoes. At the end a thick gravy should be remaining. Lower the flame.
7. On another burner, heat a tawa for dum process.
8. Sprinkle coriander and mint leaves to the cooked mixture. Layer rice evenly, then the fried onions, again the coriander and mint leaves, pour the saffron milk evenly all over
9. Seal the rim with an airtight lid or foil, for the steam to be trapped inside.
10. Transfer the biryani pot to the hot tawa, Cook for 10 to 12 mins on a medium to low flame. Switch off the stove. Leave the pan covered for another 10 to 20 minutes for the flavours to enhance.