CAPSICUM BIRIYANI

INGREDIENTS

I am fascinated by capsicum. It is not hot but has fantastic flavour. It tingles up your taste buds when fried. I wanted to create a Biriyani with absolutely different flavour but same taste that of Conventional Biriyani. This set me working. I had to let go of some spices without losing the taste and appeal of Biriyani. I zeroed in on the following combination and Did it work??? Find out for yourself .

1 Rice 1cup (Basmati/Biriyani)
Sour Curds 1/2 cup
Green Peas 1/2 cup
Beans 1/4 cup
Carrot 1 no. Diced in 1 cm cubes
Capsicums (podu mozaka) 2 medium sized cut in 3/4" Pieces
Onion sliced 2 medium sized
Tomatoes 2 nos. medium sized
Garlic 7 to 8 cloves
Ginger 1.5 " piece
Green chillies 2 nos.
Mint leaves paste 1/2 cup
Cloves 6 to 8 nos.
Turmeric powder 1/2 spoon
Chilli powder 1 spoon
Garam Masala 1 spoon
Cummins seeds 1/2 spoon
Oil 3 to 4 ladles
Salt to taste

Make Ginger Garlic paste, slice onions Shell green peas, cut Beans in 1" pieces, Dice Carrots and Capsicums and set aside. Divide capsicum in two lots of equal proportion and set aside. 

If you are using Basmati Rice/ Biriyani Rice, ensure that the rice is old otherwise, if the rice is new, toast the rice after soaking in water for ten minutes and draining all the water and toasting in a kadai in two spoons of ghee till the rice is very light creamy or pinkish looking. Toasting for about ten minutes would do. This would ensure your rice grains remains separate when cooking.

Cook Rice such that the grains are properly cooked but not mushy. You must add a little salt before cooking rice. I suggest that you cook rice well in advance because, it will have enough time to separate. Take one portion of Capsicum, Green peas and Carrots in a pressure pan , add quarter spoon of Sugar and little salt. Pressure cook till 3/4 cooked. Immediately remove the vegetables from fire and keep the lid of pan open. set aside. At this juncture make a coarse paste of Chillies and Mint leaves and keep aside. Now take oil in a Kadai and add cloves and Cumin seeds When cloves puff up , add Onions and diced Green Capsicum add little salt also. Light fry till onions become translucent. When fine aroma of Capsicums comes, ensure that you keep on turning the capsicums so as not to let them get over cooked, They must remain whole and yet just soft. Add Ginger Garlic paste, fry just under a minute Add turmeric and chilli powders. Also add Garam Masala powder (pulao masala ) last and briskly mix the whole thing. Add fresh curds and fry for a minute. Add diced tomatoes now and again cook for a couple of minutes. Add mint chilli paste last and required quantity of salt to taste. Remember that there is salt in rice and also a bit in vegetables you pressure cooked. 

Now let the whole masala cook for a no more than two to three minutes on low flame .Now take down the cooked masala for mixing. Remove the rice in a broad vessel. Mix first the cooked vegetables and slowly ladle by ladle mix masala and thoroughly mix. Cover the vessel after mixing and let it stand for about half an hour at least. Reheat the Capsicum Biriyani in a Non stick pan or in Micro and serve steaming hot. The flavour of this Capsicum Biriyani and also the taste would surely take your breath away. Believe me .!!!

Enjoy!!!!! 

And feed back as usual would be just great.