If you are looking for lunch ideas, this Cauliflower Dum Biriyani can be a good variation to traditional rice recipes. Gobhi Dum Biriyani is not too time-consuming, and the masala in this is not too strong to overpower the dish.
A couple of days back, I bought home the two largest heads of cauliflower that I have seen on the market lately. When deciding on my menu for the weekend, I figured I wanted to make something that wasn’t too time-consuming (as it was a very busy weekend) and also wanted to use the cauliflower.
My older one wanted Gobhi Manchurian with Indo-Chinese fried rice . I really was not up to frying, hence I cajoled him that I would be making it later. When browsing through my books, I came across this recipe for Cauliflower Dum Biriyani from one of my least-used books.
I bought this book by Santhi Balaraman, called The Ungal Manasukku Pidichadhu Mattum, from a book fair during my visit to India. I remembered seeing her shows on Sun TV and hence bought the book.
This recipe for gobhi dum biriyani was something I was looking for - it used cauliflower, solved my lunch selection, and was not too time-consuming. The masala used in the recipe was not too overpowering (sometimes, which happens to be the case in Biriyani’s).
The actual recipe mentioned to layer the masala and the rice, and then cover it tightly with foil, and to be placed in the oven for about 15 minutes. I changed it slightly and had my rice mixed with the masala, and I covered it tightly with foil and simmered it (Used the Dum technique) over the gas.
This is the recipe that I chose to make for this week’s Cooking from a Cookbook challenge!
Preparation time - 15 mins Cooking time - 1 hr Difficulty level - easy
Ingredients to make Cauliflower Dum Biriyani - Serves 6
- Basmati Rice - 2 cups
- Saunf/fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
- Cauliflower florets - 2 cups (small florets)
- Onions - 2 (chopped)
- Tomatoes - 3 (chopped)
- Chili powder - 1 tsp
- Yogurt - 1 cup (whisked)
- Oil/butter - 1 tbsp
- Salt - to taste
For the Masala Paste -
- Onions - 2 (chopped)
- Garlic - 4 cloves (minced)
- Cashew nuts - a few
- Ginger - 1-inch piece
- Oil - 2 tsp
For Seasoning -
- Cardamom - 3
- Pepper - 1 tsp
- Cinnamon - 1 stick
- Bay leaves - 2
- Saunf / fennel seeds - 1 tsp
To garnish -
- Ghee - 1 tsp
- Cashews or Almonds - 3 tbsp
- Raisins - 3 tbsp
Procedure to make Cauliflower Dum Biriyani -
Separate small florets from the cauliflower, wash them, and keep them aside.
Tie the fennel seeds/saunf in a small pouch using a muslin cloth. Cook the rice with the required water, and to this water, add the fennel sachet when cooking. Once the rice is done, remove the sachet and keep the rice aside.
- Heat 2 teaspoon of oil and fry the onions, garlic, and cashew nuts until golden brown. Now grind this along with ginger to a smooth paste and keep it aside.
- In a wide pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil, butter, or a combination of both. Add all the seasoning ingredients and fry them for a minute.
- Now add the chopped onions and fry them until golden brown.
- Add the ground masala paste and sauté the paste on a low flame until light brown.
- Now add the chopped tomatoes, cauliflower florets, whisked curd, chili powder, and salt.
- Cook until the cauliflowers are cooked (but not mushy). Also, make sure that the masala is not too watery. It should be a thick gravy in consistency.
- At this stage, you could either layer the rice and this masala in an oven-proof pan or add the cooked rice to the gravy and gently mix it to incorporate.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil and let it cook on a low flame for about 15 minutes. You could do this over the gas or in an oven. I used the stovetop.
- Fry the cashews/almonds and raisins in ghee and garnish the Gobi Dum biriyani.
Other Biriyani Recipes
- Vegetable Biriyani - Easy One Pot Meal
- Instant Pot Tomato Biriyani
- Simple Cabbage Biriyani | Spiced Cabbage Rice
- Simple Vegetable Biriyani - One Pot Vegan Meal
Recipe
Equipment
- ▢ pan
- ▢ bowl
- ▢ spatula
Ingredients
- ▢ 2 cups Basmati Rice
- ▢ 1 tablespoon Saunf/fennel seeds
- ▢ 2 cup Cauliflower florets small florets
- ▢ 2 Onions chopped
- ▢ 3 Tomatoes chopped
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Chili powder
- ▢ 1 cup Yogurt whisked
- ▢ 1 tablespoon Oil/butter
- ▢ to taste Salt
For the Masala Paste -
- ▢ 2 Onions chopped
- ▢ 4 cloves Garlic minced
- ▢ few Cashew nuts
- ▢ 1 inch piece Ginger
- ▢ 2 teaspoon Oil
For Seasoning -
- ▢ 3 Cardamom
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Pepper
- ▢ 1 stick Cinnamon
- ▢ 2 Bay leaves
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Saunf / fennel seeds
To garnish -
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Ghee
- ▢ 3 tablespoon Cashews or Almonds
- ▢ 3 tablespoon Raisins
Instructions
- Separate small florets from the cauliflower, wash them and keep it aside.
- Tie the fennel seeds/saunf in a small pouch using a muslin cloth. Cook the rice with required water and to this water, add the fennel sachet when cooking. Once the rice is done, remove the sachet and keep the rice aside.
- Heat 2 teaspoon of oil and fry the onions, garlic and cashew nuts until golden brown. Now grind this along with ginger to a smooth paste and keep t aside.
- In a wide pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil or butter or combination of both. Add all the seasoning ingredients and fry it for a minute.
- Now add the chopped onions and fry it until golden brown.
- Add the ground masala paste and sauté the paste in low flame until light brown.
- Now add the chopped tomatoes, cauliflower florets, whisked curd, chili powder and salt.
- Cook until the cauliflowers are cooked (but not mushy). Also make sure that the masala is not too watery. It should be a thick gravy in consistency.
- At this stage, you could either layer the rice and this masala in a oven proof pan or add the cooked rice to the gravy and gently mix them to incorporate.
- Cover the dish tightly with a foil and let it cook in low flame for about 15 minutes. You could do this over the gas or in an oven. I used the stove top.
- Fry the cashews/almonds and raisin in ghee and garnish.
- Serve hot with raita!
Nutrition
More Rice Recipes
- Vellam Sadam | Sweet Jaggery Rice
- Rasam Rice | One-Pot Rasam Sadam (Instant Pot Recipe)
- Instant Pot Vegetable Masala Khichdi
- Spicy Schezwan Fried Rice
Cauliflower Dum Biriyani | Gobhi Dum Biriyani
Equipment
- pan
- bowl
- spatula
Ingredients
- 2 cups Basmati Rice
- 1 tablespoon Saunf/fennel seeds
- 2 cup Cauliflower florets small florets
- 2 Onions chopped
- 3 Tomatoes chopped
- 1 teaspoon Chili powder
- 1 cup Yogurt whisked
- 1 tablespoon Oil/butter
- to taste Salt
For the Masala Paste –
- 2 Onions chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- few Cashew nuts
- 1 inch piece Ginger
- 2 teaspoon Oil
For Seasoning –
- 3 Cardamom
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 1 stick Cinnamon
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon Saunf / fennel seeds
To garnish –
- 1 teaspoon Ghee
- 3 tablespoon Cashews or Almonds
- 3 tablespoon Raisins
Instructions
- Separate small florets from the cauliflower, wash them and keep it aside.
- Tie the fennel seeds/saunf in a small pouch using a muslin cloth. Cook the rice with required water and to this water, add the fennel sachet when cooking. Once the rice is done, remove the sachet and keep the rice aside.
- Heat 2 teaspoon of oil and fry the onions, garlic and cashew nuts until golden brown. Now grind this along with ginger to a smooth paste and keep t aside.
- In a wide pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil or butter or combination of both. Add all the seasoning ingredients and fry it for a minute.
- Now add the chopped onions and fry it until golden brown.
- Add the ground masala paste and sauté the paste in low flame until light brown.
- Now add the chopped tomatoes, cauliflower florets, whisked curd, chili powder and salt.
- Cook until the cauliflowers are cooked (but not mushy). Also make sure that the masala is not too watery. It should be a thick gravy in consistency.
- At this stage, you could either layer the rice and this masala in a oven proof pan or add the cooked rice to the gravy and gently mix them to incorporate.
- Cover the dish tightly with a foil and let it cook in low flame for about 15 minutes. You could do this over the gas or in an oven. I used the stove top.
- Fry the cashews/almonds and raisin in ghee and garnish.
- Serve hot with raita!
