Dindigul thalappakatti biryani Veg version
Dindigul Thalappakatti biryani – vegetarian version using Mushroom and Soya chunks
Servings: 2
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 1 cup Jeera rice/Jeeraga samba rice ( No basmati rice)
- 2 cup Water ( use 2.25 cups for softer rice)
- 8 Mushroom
- 10 Soya chunks
- 2 - 3 tbsp Cooking oil
- 15 Small onion Big onion - 1
- 1 Tomato
- 3 to 4 Green chillies
- 2 tbsp Chopped mint & coriander leaves
- 1 Biryani leaf
- Nutmeg a pinch
- 1 Mace
- 1 tbsp Ginger
- ½ tsp Dhania powder/Coriander powder
- 1 tbsp Curd Or 1 tsp Lemon juice
- Salt as needed
For spice powder
- 2 inch Cinnamon
- 1 Kalpasi/Black stone flower
- ½ tbsp Saunf/Fennel seeds
- 2 Cardamom
- 3 Cloves
Instructions
- Take the ingredients given under "For Spice powder" and grind them nicely to a fine powder. You can also use a mortar & pestle to do this job. But powder it well else you will get spices in mouth while eating.( Suppose if your mixie doesn’t grind smaller quantities, just double the above ingredients, grind it and use half the powder for this recipe. Use the remaining in kurma or gravies. Smells great.)
- Finely chop onion and tomato. Slit green chillies. Boil 2 cups of water and soak the soya chunks. Wash and clean the mushrooms. . Set aside.
- Wash the jeera rice and set aside. I used Nawab brand. NO NEED TO SOAK IT. In a pressure cooker base, heat oil + ghee and saute the biryani leaf, mace, a pinch of nutmeg. Then add onions, green chillies. You can also grind onion and chillies to a smooth paste and add it. Saute till onion turns transparent. Then add ginger-garlic paste. Toss well till raw smell emanates completely. Keep the flame medium.
- Now add finely chopped tomato and saute till it becomes mushy. Add salt to quicken the process. Now add coriander powder & ground spice powder. Roast it well till you get a nice smell. Keep the flame low as it may burn.
- Now add soya chunks after squeezing it well & add mushrooms too. Mix well & add water, washed rice with required salt, add curd or lemon juice in water along with finely chopped mint, coriander leaves. Mix well.
- Check for salt & spiciness. Close the cooker and pressure cook in very low flame for one whistle. It takes nearly 8-10 minutes. After the steam is released, open the lid and fluff the rice with fork. Serve hot with raita ! Enjoy !
Video
Notes
- I did not soak the rice. So I used 2 cups of water. If you soak the rice for 30 minutes, use 1.5 cups of water and add few tbsp of more water if necessary.
- The spice powder is very important. Do not skip it.
- You can make this biryani with either soya chunks or mushroom. U can also use other vegetables but the flavor and taste of this biryani may change as carrots give sweet taste to the rice.
- You can also add finely chopped coriander & mint leaves at the end before closing the cooker. But I din’t use it.
- Squeeze the soya before adding to the cooker else it will look bloated.