For today recipe , i chose the famous Thalassery Biryani from Malabar cuisine.One month before, a new thalassery restaurant was opened in front of our apartment , we tried their famous biryani and i liked very much. It's very tasty with mild spices & ghee flavor. But my hubby didn't like it much, to him, the biryani should be spicy.If you're mild spice lover, definitely go for it, you wont regret it.

As per wiki, it says
"Thalassery biryani is a rice-based dish blended with spices and chicken. As it is the only biryani recipe in Kerala cuisine, it can also be called Kerala biryani.The main difference between Thalassery biryani and other biryanis is that it uses only Khaima/Jeerakasala rice—a short-grain, thin rice which is also called biryani rice in Kerala. The dish does not use basmati rice. Biryani is an exotic dish of Mughal origin, but this variant is an indigenous recipe of Malabar. It is a symbol of the cultural amalgamation of Mughal and Malabari cuisines. The Mughals brought the cuisine of biryani from Samarkand, and later variations of biryani developed in different parts of India. Thalassery biryani may have come to the region because of the influence of the Muslim rulers of Mysore and Arkot."

This Biryani is often served in Malabar in wedding & other parties too. For this biryani, ghee rice and masalas are prepared separately and put it in "Dum" . So here is my take on veg version of this famous malabar biryani.

Thalassery Veg Biryani

Preparation Time : 30 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Biryani | Recipe Cuisine: Kerala

Ingredients

Veggies - 1- 1/2 cup (i used potato,carrot, beans,cauliflower and capsicum)
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Green Chili - 6 to 8 (depends upon the spice)
Curd - 1/4 cup
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - pinch
Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - a small piece
Cardamom - 2
Star anise - a small piece
Cloves - 3 nos
Onions - 2 nos
Tomato - 1 no
Cashew & raisin - as per your need
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Coriander and Mint - a handful
Salt
For Ghee Rice
Jeeraga Samba / Basmati rice - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Cinnamon - small piece
Bay leaf-1
Cloves - 2 nos
Cardamom - 1 nos

Procedure

Soak the rice for 1/2 hr. Cut all the veggies , heat the pressure pan with ghee & coconut oil, add the spices(cinnamon,cloves, cardamom) and allow to splutter, then add half of the onions ,saute it until it becomes translucent.

Then add all the veggies , ginger garlic paste & crushed green chili ,give a quick stir and then add tomato.

Add curd and all the masala powder (garam masala, turmeric & pepper powder) and salt (just enough for the veggies ). Mix it well and put the lid on cooker and cook for 2 whistle. No need to add water, the water from veggies & curd is enough to cook it.The veggies should be crunch & don't make it mushy.

Heat the wide pan with little ghee, add the remaining onions & saute until the onions are caramalized.

In the same pan, fry the cashew & raisin until golden brown .

In the same pan, add the ghee, fry the spices listed under "For ghee rice" (cinnamon,bay leaf, cloves & cardamom) add water, bring to boil, then add rice and cook until it's done.

Now take pan, you are going to put the dum. Add the veggie masala we prepared and then layered with the rice we cooked.

Finally garnish with coriander,mint leaves, caramalized onions ,cashews & raisins.For putting the dum, Heat dosa pan, place the rice pan on top of that , cover it with lid and then place some heavy weight on top of that.