Chettinad Veg Biryani

Chettinad vegetable biryani, popularly known as Chettinadu veg biryani or kaikari biryani, is one of the delicious Indian biryani recipes prepared with the unique spices of Chettinadu and with the seeraga samba rice. Of all the Tamil Nadu cuisines, my favorite is the Chettinadu cuisine. I don’t know if it’s the spices or the simple yet delicious recipes that make me say so. But yes, it’s my favorite. There are so many recipes that I can keep talking about them.

Ingredients

Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1 tbsp=15ml; 1 tsp=5ml;
For Cashew Tempering

• 2 tbsp ghee
• 15 grams cashew nuts

To Temper-

• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 2- inch cinnamon stick
• 4 green cardamoms
• 6 cloves
• 1 marathi moggu/kapok buds
• 1- star anise

Other Ingredients

• 5 green chilies broken (adjust as per taste)
• 15 shallots
• 1/2 cup onion chopped
• 2 tomatoes chopped (approx 175 grams)
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 3 cups of mixed vegetables (I used beans, carrot, peas, potatoes, and cauliflower
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp Blackstone flower powder
• 1 cup mint leaves tightly packed
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
• 1.25 tbsp salt or to taste
• 3 cups seeraga sambar rice rinsed and soaked in water for 30 minutes and drained
• 4.5 cup water

Step by Steps

Prep-Work-

1. Wash the rice and soak it in 4 cups of water for 30 mts.

2. Peel the onions and chop them and also the vegetables and tomatoes.

3. Break the green chilies into two and keep aside.

4. Clean the mint and remove the stems and chop the cilantro and set aside.

Biryani preparation-

1. Heat a pan or kadai and add the ghee. I used my Dutch-oven for this biryani preparation.

2. When the ghee melts, add the cashews and fry until it turns light golden brown. Please remove it from the pan and set aside.

3. Now in the same pan, add the 1/4 cup oil. When it is hot, add the bay leaves, cinnamon, green cardamom, cloves, marathi moggu/kapok bud, and the star anise. Saute for a minute.

4. Now add the onion and shallots and saute until the onion turns soft. Then add the ginger-garlic paste and green chilies and saute for a minute or until the ginger and garlic's raw smell goes off. You can add the green chilies along with onions as well.

5. Add chopped Mint and Cilantro (reserve some to garnish) to the pan and saute for 1 minute.

6. Add the mixed vegetables to the pan. Mix well and cook for 3 to 4 minutes - no need to cover.

7. At this stage, add chopped tomatoes, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt, and Blackstone flower powder to the vegetables and mix well. Add 1/4 cup of water and cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the tomatoes are slightly mushy.

8. Now remove the lid and add 4 cups of water and bring it to a boil.

9. Now add the drained rice and cook for 5 minutes in high flame.

10. By now, the rice would have cooked 80% and, if required, drizzle the remaining 1/4 more water and reduce the heat to low—cover and cook for 12 minutes.

11. Then turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes.

12. Add the fried cashews and garnish it with cilantro and serve warm.

TIPS

Adjust the salt, veggies, and spices as per your preference.

If using a black stone flower, the dried one, add it along with the tempering ingredients.

We use 1/4 cup of veggies for cooking the veggies and 4 cups of water for the rice. For one cup of seeraga samba rice, I went with 1 1/3 cup of water. And if needed, add 1/4 more cup of water, but you won’t need more than that.

Notes ( step by step images and tips not found)