Malai Khumb Biryani / Malai mushroom biryani

Mushrooms are often considered as non vegetarian food :) But the truth is its neither animal product nor animal by product. There are different types of mushrooms. Few are naturally found in grasslands and few are cultivated.

Most commonly used mushrooms for cooking purpose are button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus).

Before we proceed with our recipe, have a look at the nutritional content of mushroooms

For 100 gms of mushroom raw white mushrooms provide 22 calories and are an excellent source 19% of the daily value of the B vitamins, riboflavin,niacin and pantothenic acid. Fresh mushrooms are also a good source (10-19% Daily Value) of the dietary mineral, phosphorus.

Malai Khumb Biryani / Malai Mushroom Biryani:

Preparation time : 15 mins

Cooking time : 40 to 60 mins

Serving : 4 to 5

Utensils required : 1 heavy and deep bottom vessel, 1 kadai, 1 deep bottom vessel, 1 rice strainer.

Ingredients  for mushroom curry :

Mushrooms : 450 gms

Fresh malai : 150 gms mixed with saffron

Fresh Methi leaves : 1/4th cup

Mint leaves : 2/3rd cup

Coriander leaves : 1 cup

Lime : 1 medium size

Tomatoes : 2 medium size

Salt : as per taste 

Red chilly powder : 2 to 3 tspns

Green Chilies : 5 to 6 

Garam masala powder : 1/4th spoon

Ghee : 3 tbspn

Jeera : 1 tbspn

Garlic pods : 4 to 5

Ginger : 1 inch.

Turmeric : 1 tbspn

Coriander powder : 1/2 tspn

Jeera powder : 1/2 tspn

Biryani Rice : 

Basmathi Rice : 2 1/2 cups

Water for cooking rice : 4 1/4th cup

(I bought all my kitchen spices from coorg, which are very spicy and aromatic so i used very little amount of all the spices. You can use more if you wish your biryani to be extra spicy)

Dry Bay leaf : 1

Nutmeg (Raw not powder) : 1/4th less than that of whole nutmeg

Mace : 1/4th of mace flower

Cloves : 4 to 6

Elaichi : 3 pods

Sajeera : 1 tbspn

Cinnamon : 1 inch stick

black pepper : 4 to 6 crushed.

Kababchini : 3 to 4 pods.

Black cardamom : 2 

Star anise : 1 small

Marati Boggu : 1 large stick

Green chillies : 3 cut vertically

Oil or Ghee : 6 tbspn

Onions : 1 cubed, 1 thinly sliced 1 sliced into medium thick rings.

Lemon : 2 medium size

Milk : 1/4 th cup mixed with saffron.

Roughly chopped coriander and mint leaves : 1 cup

Butter : 25 gms.

Method :

1. Wash basmathi rice and soak them in fresh water for about 20 mins 
2. Mean while Wash mushrooms thoroughly and cut them in thick slices. May be 4 to 5 slices per mushroom.
3. Toss thinly sliced onions and onion rings with little salt and leave it for 2 mins.
4. Now fry them in oil until it turns in to golden brown. Make sure you fry them in two different batches. Place onions on tissue paper to get rid of excess oil. make sure to spread them in a plate with out a lid over it to avoid soggy onions.
5. Now grind Mint leaves, Methi leaves, coriander leaves and 5 to 6 green chillies, ginger and garlic with little oil into a paste. It does not have to be smooth.
6. Now grind tomatoes into a smooth paste.
7. Now take a kadai and place it on medium flame. Add jeera, turmeric and saute them for 2 mins.
8. Now add methi, mint, coriander, green chilly, ginger garlic paste and saute for 30 seconds and close the lid. Let it cook for 3 mins on medium flame.
9. Now add tomato paste and cook it for 4 more minutes.
10. Now add garam masala powder, coriander powder, jeera powder, salt and red chilly powder.
11. Let it cook for 3 mins and add sliced mushrooms.
12. Saute them with out breaking mushrooms. Let all the masala stick to mushrooms.
13. Close the lid and cook it for 4 mins. Fresh mushroom contains more than 50% of water. So mushrooms will release water by itself.
14. If the mushrooms are not fresh then keep checking the consistency of mushroom masala. It should not be too thick or runny consistency.
15. If the consistency of mushroom masala is too thick add v.little amount of water, if it is too runny open the lid and let it cook until excess water evaporates. 
16. Once you see ghee or oil separated from masala, turn off the flame and add 1 whole lime juice and mix.
17. Now take a deep bottom cooking vessel ( I used steel, you can use any vessel or utensils)
18. Add 2 to 3 spoons of ghee or oil, add 2 spns of cubed onions, add all the dry masalas, green chillies and saute them for 1 min on medium flame (If you are not using steel vessel saute it for 3 mins)
19. Now add 4 1/4th cup of water and salt as per your taste.
20. Once water reaches to boiling point, add soaked rice and let it cook on medium to high flame until rice is 50 % cooked and now add 2 whole lemon juice and let it cook for 3 mins.
21. Now take out 50 percent of cooking rice from the vessel with out starch . You can use any steel rice strainer to take out rice from the cooking vessel. This rice will be our bottom layer of our biryani. Make sure you strain all the starch into cooking vessel and remove only half cooked rice from it. If you find any whole masalas except jeera take them out and put them back into cooking vessel.
22. Now let rice cook upto 80 %. Now strain the entire starch from the rice into a bowl. Make sure you get rice and whole masalas into a strainer and starch into a bowl. 
23. Now take a heavy and deep bottom aluminum vessel. Add ghee or oil (I used butter and ghee ) rub it on bottom of pan. (Do not put this vessel on flame until our biryani is properly layered)
24. Now place rest of the diced onions on bottom of the pan.
25. Make sure onions cover entire bottom of the vessel with out leaving any gap.
26. Now add 1st layer of 50% cooked basmati rice.
27. Add half of thinly sliced fried onions above the rice. Add saffron and malai mixture and pour half of the malai over the mushrooms and fried onions.
28. Add little amount of ghee and roughly chopped mint and coriander leaves over mushrooms.
29. There goes our first layer.
30. Now add half of 80% cooked rice over mushrooms, spread it evenly. 
31. Add 2nd and final layer of mushroom masala over rice and add rest of the thinly sliced fried onions, 1 spoon of ghee, rest of the malai mixed saffron and roughly chopped coriander and mint leaves.
32. Above this layer add rest of the rice and spread it evenly.
33. Above the rice, add saffron mixed milk, 2 spoons of ghee, roughly chopped coriander and mint leaves, fried onion rings and 1/2 spoon of lemon juice.
34. Now place this vessel on medium to high flame and close the lid. Make sure the steam does not leave from the vessel. You can use atta to cover the rim of the vessel. I covered the vessel wit a lid and kept heavy weight over the lid.
35. Let it cook for about 10 mins.
36. Now remove the vessel from the stove and place heavy gauge tawa on stove.
37. Now place our biryani vessel on tawa and reduce the flame to sim and let it cook for 20 to 30 mins.
38. You can smell the biryani once it is completely cooked. 
39. If you want to check if it is properly cooked, take a skewer and insert it the middle of the vessel. If the skewer comes out clean then biryani is properly cooked.

Note : The process of making biryani may be lengthy. But if your are cooking a single plate biryani then it can be done in less than 30 mins.