Here is the simple Vegetable Biryani recipe that Kitty Aunty taught me to use.  Enjoy!

For 4-5 large servings

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped

½ teaspoon Shan Biryani Masala (packaged, can find at Indian stores)

½ teaspoon housemade masala

      6 cloves

      2 sticks cinnamon

      2 Indian bay leaves (can use regular bay leaves, but Indian is better)

2 inch ginger stick, skin cut off, cut in large pieces

½ bulb garlic

5 green chilies, finely chopped

½ cup yogurt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Approx. 2 – 3 cups of day-old, separated rice (or just drier rice that can separate)

1/8 teaspoon Ajino mote (Chinese – can omit if you choose)

2 teaspoons cooking oil (Kitty Aunty used unfiltered corn oil)

1 cup fresh or frozen cut mixed vegetables (if frozen, can defrost then cook in dish still when cold, they will cook in pan)

½ teaspoon saffron

1-2 teaspoons salt

If you do polished presentation:

¼ medium onion, thinly sliced

Corn or vegetable oil

Few drops yellow food coloring

Chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions:

To make house-made masala:

      -Dry heat in a pan the cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaves

      -After it becomes fragrant, remove from heat

      -Grind the spices in a coffee bean grinder

To make biryani mix:

      -Heat oil in a large saucepan (medium heat)

      -Add Shan Biryani Masala, onion, and sauté

-Add a little water after it simmers for a bit to make sure it doesn’t get too dry.  Onion should become soften, so cover the pan.

-Blend ginger, green chilies, and garlic in a food processor, until very finely chopped.

-Add garlic, ginger, and green chilies to the pan, sauté and let simmer

-Add homemade masala

-Let simmer, with some light stirring, and add water if too dry.  Be liberal with adding water, it will simmer away.

-Let flavors settle in together

-Add yogurt, lemon juice, vegetables, saffron, salt, and ajino mote, stir and let flavors get into each other

Quick Finish:

      -Add rice and stir fry together

More Polished Presentation:

      -Get serving/casserole dish, put vegetable mix at bottom of pan

      -Add layer of rice

      -Add layer of French fried onions (thin slices of onion cooked in vegetable/corn oil until

      crisp)

      -Then repeat layers

-Final step:  Add a few drops of yellow food coloring to make some of rice turn yellow, and then throw chopped cilantro on top