Parda/ Potli veg biryani

Hi friends, 

I am back after a 1 week break. Today is a special day as it is my father's birthday.  He is a poori fanatic. He loves poori more than anything else. So for breakfast I  made poori and aloo chole masala. 

I wanted to make lunch a little different.  So I made parda biryani or potli biryani. I have had potli biryani once. When you cut open the potli, a waft of fresh masala, fried onions, mint, basmati rice hits you. I really was waiting for an opportunity to try this. Some recipes call for yeast to bake the bread. I didn't want to add yeast. So I made a basic maida dough and made potli with it. Again the biryani,  I made my go to recipe. It is not an elaborate recipe. I make it really simple.

So coming to the ingredients 

INGREDIENTS:- 

Mixed vegetables                       :- 1 cup

Basmati rice                                :- 2 cups

Onion                                           :-  4 big ones

Curd                                             :-1/2 cup

Homemade  biryani  masala  :-1 tbsp

Ginger garlic paste 

Chilli powder 

Turmeric powder 

Coriander powder 

Roasted jeera powder 

Bay leaves 

Cinnamon 

Cardamom 

Fennel seeds 

Salt

Coriander leaves 

Mint leaves 

To make dough

Maida                 :- 1/2 cup

Salt

Water

First let's make the dough with maida, salt and water. Knead into a soft dough and keep it aside.

Soak basmati rice in water for half an hour. 

Make a marinade with curd, chilli powder, turmeric powder, jeera powder , coriander powder and biryani masala. Mix the vegetables in the marinade and let it sit aside for half an hour. 

Fry thin strips of 1 onion and keep aside. 

Take 2 tbsp of oil in a kadai. Add whole masala like bay leaves, cinnamon,cardamom and fennel seeds. Once it is toasted add onions and fry it for a good 5 minutes.  Now add the marinated vegetables in the kadai. Add salt. Now keep the kadai closed and let it cook till it gets 3/4 th cooked.

In the meantime, cook basmati rice with salt and a little bit of oil. Take it off when it is 3/4 th cooked. 

Let everything cool.

Potli can be baked in oven or pan. I have used pan.

Take the oven proof bowl or pan in which potli is to be made. Lightly brush with oil or ghee.

Take the maida dough and make it into a big and thin chapati .

Line the base of the bowl or pan with the maida chapati. Let the excess hang from the sides. Now add the biryani in layers. First fried onions  ,then coriander leaves  ,mint leaves. Add one layer of rice ,one layer of vegetables. Continue this layering till you reach the end of bowl or pan. At the top again,add fried onions and fresh leaves. Once we have layered bring the dough from the sides together in the center. Now press the dough tight so that its sealed. Now it will look like a potli with biryani fully encased inside. 

If baking in oven, cook in a preheated oven at 180° for 15-20 minutes till the maida dough is cooked and inside also gets cooked.

If cooking in pan ,close the pan with lid and cook in low till it gets cooked from one side. Now very carefully , shift to other side and cook. Once it is cooked from both sides, serve it hot.

While serving, take knife and cut like cake , the potli. Serve the rice from inside the potli with Raita.

This is such a dramatic way to present a normal biryani.  

We can also make this with any kind of pulao, biryani . I have not added the measurements of the powders and salt, as that can be added according to the taste.

Please do try this in your own style and let me know.