Easy vegetable biryani in a pressure cooker or rice cooker, the quick and sane way (in my opinion) to make a quick vegetable biryani at home.
I always turn to my trusted rice cooker when it comes to making an easy vegetable biryani on a busy weeknight or lazy weekend. Biryani is often seen as time-consuming and needing many ingredients but it needn’t be that way. Often, I just make this one-pot, healthy, and easy vegetable biryani with whatever vegetables I have in hand and it makes a wholesome meal with some raita and papad. I have quite a few different biryani recipes in here so check it out if you want some variety. Here’s an easy veg pulao recipe if that’s what you are after but this vegetable biryani with mirchi ka salan makes a fabulous meal – highly recommended! You may also want to try this egg biryani for a spicy treat or a very simple vegetable rice if you are short on time. If you have some time on hand and want the real deal, then this vegetable dum biryani is the way to go!
So if you are not a biryani purist (and for my sake, I hope you are not!), then this one-pot easy vegetable biryani that you can make in your pressure cooker or rice cooker may be just the thing you need in your life. I use store-bought biryani masala because I am not the kind pf person who makes biryani masala at home but you can use freshly ground spices if you are feeling up to it. I have done that once or twice but find that biryani masala works just as well. Another option is to temper with whole spices which would give your biryani a much lighter colour but it would taste awesome either ways.
- 1 cup of basmati or any long-grained rice
- 2 cups of mixed vegetables, chopped (I use what I have in hand - broccoli, carrots, beans, cauliflower, peas, corn, baby corn, capsicum, etc)
- 2 tsp of biryani masala (or 3 cloves, 3 cardamom, 1" piece cinnamon, 1 star anise)
- 1 fistful of mint leaves
- 1 small bunch of coriander leaves (cilantro)
- ½ tsp of turmeric powder
- ½ tsp of cumin seeds
- 1 tsp of coriander powder
- 2-3 green chillies, minced
- 1 tsp of red chilli powde (adjust to taste)
- 2 large onions, sliced
- ½ cup of curd (optional)
- 1 tbsp of ghee
- A few cashew nuts or almonds (optional)
- 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
- Wash the rice and and soak it in some water while you go about with the rest of the preparations.
- Heat the ghee in a wide pan and roast the nuts (if using) Drain and add the sliced onions and roast until golden brown. Set aside half of it and add ginger garlic paste. Saute until fragrant.
- Next, add the green chillies, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin, and some salt. Saute until the spices are roasted - about 1 minute.
- Top off with the chopped vegetables and mix well. Add the biryani masala and the chopped mint and coriander leaves (see notes on how to use whole spices).
- Transfer this to your rice cooker pan and add about 2 cups water and the curd - the measurements will vary according to rice cooker used - and the soaked rice. (See notes for pressure cooker biryani method)
- , When the rice is done, open immediately and give it a good stir-through when still hot. Add the reserved roasted nuts and onions. Garnish with more coriander leaves and sprinkle some lemon juice if desired.
- Serve with papad or chips and a nice cooling raita.
How to Make Veg Biryani in Rice Cooker:
0. Wash the rice and and soak it in some water while you go about with the rest of the preparations.
1. Heat the ghee in a wide pan and roast the nuts (if using) Drain and add the sliced onions and roast until golden brown. Set aside half of it and add ginger garlic paste. Saute until fragrant.
2. Next, add the green chillies, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin, and some salt. Saute until the spices are roasted – about 1 minute.
3. Top off with the chopped vegetables and mix well. Add the biryani masala and the chopped mint and coriander leaves (see notes on how to use whole spices).
4. Transfer this to your rice cooker pan and add about 2 cups water and the curd – the measurements will vary according to rice cooker used – and the soaked rice. (See notes for pressure cooker biryani method)
5, When the rice is done, open immediately and give it a good stir-through when still hot. Add the reserved roasted nuts and onions. Garnish with more coriander leaves and sprinkle some lemon juice if desired.
Serve with papad or chips and a nice cooling raita.
Notes:
- If using whole spices instead of the biryani masala, add it first to the hot ghee and then roast the onions. You will also need to increase the amounts of cumin and coriander powder to make sure the spice levels are right. Of course, adapt this to personal preference
- If using the pressure cooker, I highly recommend only cooking for about 2 whistles, otherwise the vegetables will turn to mush. I generally use the rice cooker for vegetable biryani and it gives great results
- A biryani is one of those dishes where you need to play around with the ingredients and make it your own. Don’t be afraid to experiment, I always do and my vegetable biryanis never look or taste the same every time
For Easy Vegetable Biryani recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, etc please use the Google Translate button on the top right of this website.
OMG this was so good! My house smelled wonderful while the rice was cooking so much so that my husband came upstairs to see what was going on.
i tried this recipe. I used 1.5 cups of rice and adjusted the ingredients accordingly and proportionately. Like for 1.5 cups rice, 3 cups vegetables, 3 tspn shan biryani masala, etc. While the taste was nice, I found the rice too flavourful. It was so full of flavour that we could eat the rice alone with boiled eggs and raita! Next I will use 2 cups rice so there will be less masala in the rice and I can eat with some curry.
sounds good 🙂 thanks for leaving a note
Tried this recipe.. Came out well. Thanks for sharing..
thank you leera!
Great recipe , I will try it .thank you