Hyderabad Soy Biryani Recipe With Vegetables & Palak

Biryanis are synonymous with Hyderabad, capital of Telangana of South India. The Hyderabadi Dum Biryani is quite famous. So is the use of palak in their dishes. In Mumbai or outside Hyderabad, if at all you order for a Hyderabadi biryani in restaurants, whether veg or non veg, you are most likely to be served a greenish coloured biryani. To oomph up the appeal of this personal favourite- Hyderabadi biryani, I have added soy chunks to this recipe. I have also used palak to bring up that greenish colour and spiced it well to match up to the Hyderabadi recipe. Course : Main Course Ingridients : To cook Rice: 2 cups Basmati rice , soaked for 30 minutes 8 cups Water Salt , to taste Other Ingredients 1/4 cup Soy Chunks (Nuggets) , soaked in hot water for 15 minutes 1/4 cup Carrots (Gajjar) , chopped 1/4 cup Green beans (French Beans) , chopped 1/4 cup Green peas (Matar) 1/4 cup Cauliflower (gobi) , chopped 1/4 cup Green Bell Pepper (Capsicum) , chopped 3 Potatoes (Aloo) , cubed 2 Tomatoes , chopped 4 Onions , chopped 2 tablespoons Ginger Garlic Paste Oil , to cook 1 inch Cinnamon Stick (Dalchini) 1 Cardamom (Elaichi) Pods/Seeds 1 Cloves (Laung) 1/4 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera) For Palak Puree: 1-1/2 cups Spinach Leaves (Palak) , or 1 bunch, cleaned and chopped 1/2 cup Coriander (Dhania) Leaves 1/2 cup Mint Leaves (Pudina) 3 Green Chillies 5 Whole Almonds (Badam) Whole spices for the biryani: 2 inch Cinnamon Stick (Dalchini) 3 Cardamom (Elaichi) Pods/Seeds 1 Black cardamom (Badi Elaichi) 3 Cloves (Laung) 1 Bay leaf (tej patta) 1/2 teaspoon Ajwain (Carom seeds) 1/4 Mace (Javitri) Spice Powders: 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder (Haldi) 1 teaspoon Red Chilli powder 1-1/2 teaspoon Coriander Powder (Dhania) 2 teaspoon Garam masala powder Salt , to taste For Layering the biryani: 2 cups Onions , sliced, caramelised 1/4 cup Coriander (Dhania) Leaves , chopped 1/4 cup Mint Leaves (Pudina) , roughly torn 1/2 cup Milk 7 Saffron strands Ghee , as needed Instructions To begin making Hyderabad Soy Biryani Recipe With Vegetables & Palak, wash rice well and soak for half an hour.In a handi, boil water, almost  triple the quantity of rice or more, with salt and the whole spices mentioned above. When the water comes to a boil, add the soaked rice and cook till almost done. When almost a bite remains in the grains, drain the rice in a sieve. Keep aside. Warm a bowl of milk in a saucepan, and soak the saffron in it and keep aside till required. In the meantime, heat a kadai with a bit of oil and on high heat, caramelise the onions with sprinkling some salt on it and sauteing them. Keep aside.Now in the same kadai, with a bit of oil heated, add the potatoes and cook till they are shallow fried and crisp-cooked, season with salt and keep aside till required for layering.In another vessel, bring enough water to boil to cook the remaining vegetables except the capsicum. Add the cauliflower first to the boiling water. After about 6 minutes or when the cauliflower is softened half-way through, add the rest of the vegetables. When almost done, drain from the clear stock and keep aside. Reserve and use this water for making soups if you wish. Take off soy chunks off the hot water, wash thoroughly and squeeze tightly to discard any extra water. For the biryani, in another vessel heat oil and add to it all the whole spices mentioned and saute till aromatic. Now add the remaining half of the chopped onions and saute on high flame. Add a bit of salt to it. Add the chopped capsicum too. When onions turn translucent, add ginger garlic paste and saute well for a minute till the raw smell vanishes. Now add turmeric and the chopped tomatoes. Mix well and cover and cook for a while. Add all the other dry spice powders and mix well.Meanwhile in a mixer grinder, puree the palak with other mentioned ingredients for palak puree. Add the palak puree and mix well. Keep stirring on high flame for a while. Now add the beaten curds to the gravy and stir continuously on high flame. Add the soya chunks and mix well. Cover and cook. After a few minutes, add the boiled and drained vegetables, and adjust salt to taste. Mix well.  Adjust seasoning or masalas now. Add most of the fried onions reserving little for layering and garnishing. When all the water has evaporated and the gravy has thickened, switch of heat. Keep a thick griddle to heat on the stove top. Place a handi on the griddle, just to ensure the even heat distribution such that the bottom of the biryani doesn't get burnt. Now in the handi, start layering the biryani. Start with spreading half the gravy at the bottom. Cover with some cooked rice. Spread some ghee, fried onions, potato cubes, coriander leaves and mint leaves over it. Repeat layering so that you finish with caramelised onions on top most layer.. Make four vertical holes in the biryani with the handle of a spoon and pour saffron milk into it. Cover the vessel with aluminium foil and shut the lid tightly over it. Keep vessel on medium heat for dum. Keep on high heat for first 3 minutes and then on a low heat for about 6-7 minutes. Keep covered for few more minutes. Open the lid and mix a bit or serve in layers. Serve Hyderabad Soy Biryani Recipe With Vegetables & Palak along with Burani Raita Recipe (Garlic Based Yogurt), Pickled Onions Recipe, and Saunf Aloo & Dal Kebab Recipe (Potato & Lentil Kebabs).