Sprouted Masoor Biriyani

Close on the heels of the Masoor Paratha comes yet another Masoor  dish – the Biriyani. You are forgiven if have not heard of this dish, its not among the common Biriyanis out there. Also this is a rice item and thus adding yet another to the already long list of rice items on this blog. This recipe is also different from the typical Biriyani recipes in quirky way – here we use a cup of milk with a few strings of saffron along with water to cook Biriyani.  Here it is.

What you need to have:

1. Basumathi rice – 1 cup

2. Sprouted Masoor – 1/2 cup

Sprouted Masoor & Basumathi Rice

Ingredients of Seasoning:

1. Chopped Onions – 2/3 cup

2. Chopped Tomatoes – 1/4 cup

3. Ginger-Garlic paste – 1and1/2 Teaspoon

4. Tej Patha – 2

5. Cardamom – 2

6. Cloves – 2

7. Cinnamon – 2″   piece

8.  Garam masala powder – 1 Teaspoon

9. Turmeric powder – 1 Teaspoon

10. Chilli powder – 1 Teaspoon

11. Milk – 1/2 cup with a few strings of saffron

12. Cooking oil – 2 Tablespoons

13. Salt – To taste

14. Dry fruits  – A handful of cashews  & resins

Ingredients of Seasoning

What you do with what you have:

1. Wash and drain water from rice and keep it aside. Wash and soak masoor over night in water. Next morning drain all water and tie it in a piece of clean cloth and keep it aside. By evening it sprouts and is as shown in the image 1.

2. Wash, peal and chop onions lengthwise as shown in image 2. Chop tomatoes as well fine. Prepare ginger-garlic paste as well as shown in the image 2.

3. Place a cooker on medium flame with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in it. When heated add tej patha to it. When fried add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon one after the other and also cashews and resins.

Masala items and dry fruits being fried in seasoning

3. Add chopped tomatoes from step 2 to it and fry it till it is mushy. Add chopped onions from step 2 to it and also required quantity of salt to it. Later add ginger-garlic paste and just stir for a while. At this stage add turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder one after the other and just stir .

All powders and the Ginger-garlic paste being fried

4. Add both rice and sprouted masoor from step 1 to it and add milk and soaked saffron to it and stir that for a while. Later add the remaining quantity of water to the dish proportionately and set the cooker by placing the weight of the cooker on medium flame.

Rice and Sprouted Masoor being added to the seasoning

The cooker is ready to set  with the ingredients

5. On being done just remove the weight of the cooker and is ready to serve. Decorate it with coriander leaves.

Ready to serve Masoor Biriyani

Number of servings: 2-3

How long it takes: 45 minutes (other than soaking & sprouting of the lentil)