Nawabi vegetable biryani

1. Wash and soak rice for atleast 30 mints.

2. Make a paste of coriander leaves,mint leaves,ginger,garlic and green chilli.
Marinate the half cooked vegetables and paneer pieces with prepared green paste,curd,1/2 tspngaram masala and salt.Keep for 1 hr.

3. To make rice

4. Take a pan full of water.Add whole masala,ghee,coriander & mint leaves and saffron strands(see notes).Add enough salt also(see notes).Let the water boil.
Now add the saoked rice to it and wait till the rice is 3/4 th cooked.Darin water and keep aside.

5. To make masala

6. Take a pan.Add the marinated vegetables to it.Add oil,red chilli powder,cumin powder,turmeric powder,remaining 1/2 tspn garam masala
nad little salt.Mix well.Add little salt and cook the masala in low to medium flame for 5mints.Now add 1/2 of fried onion to the masala.
Mix well ,cover and cook for 2 more mints.Masala is ready.

7. Layer the biryani

8. Take a heavy bottomed pan.Brush some ghee in it.Add one layer of masala followed by a layer of rice.Sprinkle some fried onion and little ghee also.Repeat the
process if you have more masala and rice remaining.( for this quantity of rice and vegetables your biryani will have only 1 layer)
Cover the pan with a tight lid(or you can just seal it with maida/wheat dough).Place the pan in stove .Keep in low flame.
Its good to place some heavy weight(a pan full of water is enough) on the top of the pan also.Let it sit in low flame for about 15 to 20 mints.
After 15 mints,open the lid and serve hot.

9. Notes:If you using cook and drain method for rice,always add more salt to the water used for cooking rice.Then only the rice will absorb enough salt from the water.

10. If you don't have saffron strands just add a pinch of turmeric to the water used for cooking rice.

11. * Shah jeera/caraway seeds is a very important ingredient in Nawabi Biryani