Margarita's International Recipes

Hyderabad

Aloo Dum Biryani

Potato Biryani


Potato Biryani


Hyderabadi is famous for its byrianis, I decided to make this vegetarian one for my vegan daughter. I used coconut yogurt and coconut milk, but otherwise I followed the recipe pretty faithfully. Unfortunately, the results weren't great. My daughter ate it, but unenthusiastically. Part of the problem is that there was too much rice in proportion to the potatoes - in the recipe below I've brought it down to 1 cup instead of 1 1/2. Still, you probably should look for another recipe if you want to make this.

Potato Biryani

Ingredients

  • cooking oil
  • 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp ginger garlic paste
  • 1/2 Tbsp red chili powder or to taste
  • 3/4 tsp garam masala
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • salt to taste

    1 cup basmati rice

  • 2 bay leaves, divided
  • 2 cinnamon sticks, divided
  • 5 green cardamons, divided
  • 1/2 tsp black cumin, divided
  • 2 green chilis, deseeded
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 star anise
  • 3 Tbsp chopped mint
  • 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 1/2 cup saffron milk.

Directions

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the potato cubes and cook, stirring often, until almost done, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the potato and set aside.

Add the onions to the pot and fry, stirring often, until golden. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt with the ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, garam masala, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and salt to taste. Add the onions and potatoes and mix well. Cover and let marinade for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse the rice and soak it in water for 20 minutes. In a medium-size cooking pot, bring 3 cups of water to boil. Add 1 bay leaf, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cardamons, 1/4 tap black cumin and salt to taste. Add the rice and 1 tsp oil. Gently simmer until the rice is al dente. Drain and set aside.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in the same pot you cooked the rice. When hot, add the chilis, cloves, star anise, 1 bay leaf, 2 green cardamons, and the remaining cinnamon stick. Fry until you can smell the aroma. Add the lamb with the marinade and cook, stirring, until the potatoes are cooked through but not mushy. Remove half of the potatoes to a bowl.

Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of mint and 1 Tbsp cilantro over the remaining potato mixture. Cover with half of the rice. Add the rest of the potatoes, forming a layer, and sprinkle with another tablespoon of mint and cilantro. Cover with the remaining rice and sprinkle the remaining cilantro and mint over it. Pour saffron milk on top. Cover tightly and simmer for 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat and rest, covered, for 20 more minutes before serving.


Adapted from Swasthi's recipe at Indian Healthy Recipes.com


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