Rice and vegetables layered with yogurt, whole spices, cashews and raisins and sealed to steam slowly; a festive one-pot from the notebook's mains section.
Lunch · 40 min prep · 50 min cook · serves 4 Newly added
Ingredients
- 1½ cups basmati rice , soaked 30 minutes
- 5 cups water , divided
- 2 potato , cubed
- 1½ cups cauliflower , florets
- ½ cup green peas
- 1 carrot , sliced
- ¾ cup curd (yogurt) , whisked
- 12 cashew , roasted
- 2 tbsp raisin
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
- 1 inch piece cinnamon stick
- 1 black cardamom
- 3 green cardamom
- 4 cloves
- 2 strands mace (javitri)
- 8 black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp ginger , grated
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- to taste rock salt
- 1 pinch saffron threads , soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk, optional
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves , chopped
Preparation
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Boil the rice in 4 cups of water with the whole spices (tej patta, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black cardamom, mace, pepper) and salt until 70% done; it should still bite. Drain.
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In the same pot, heat 2 tablespoons of ghee; sizzle cumin, add ginger, turmeric, chili and coriander powders, then the vegetables; cook 5 minutes.
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Lower the heat; stir in the whisked yogurt a spoon at a time so it does not split, with the cashews, raisins and salt. Cook until the vegetables are barely tender.
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Layer the drained rice over the vegetables; dot with the last tablespoon of ghee, the saffron milk and coriander.
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Seal the lid with dough or a tight foil and cloth; steam on the lowest heat (dum) 20 minutes. Rest 10 minutes before opening.
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Open at the table, fragrant steam first, and fork the layers gently together.
In the tradition
Dum cooking, sealing a pot and letting it bake in its own steam; is Lucknow’s gift to the Indian kitchen. The notebook’s version is gently spiced and onion-free, letting mace, black cardamom and saffron do the talking. The seal matters more than the fire: nothing should escape but the aroma when the lid is lifted.
Sources & further reading
- Family recipe notebook (recipe #35, "Dum Biryani (Lucknow): oil, tej patta, javitri, black cardamom, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, black pepper, potato, peas, cauliflower, roasted cashew, raisin, yogurt, turmeric, red chili, coriander, rice")
Classical citations mark where a tradition is drawn on; modern books are shared as further reading, not as prescriptions.