Akkha Masoor Biryani

Akkha Masoor Biryani is a scrumptious Indian veg biryani. Akkha masoor (whole red lentils) are cooked in onion – tomato gravy and layered with cooked fragrant and flavorful basmati rice. Nothing like a good, flavorful plate of Biryani to celebrate the weekend. This Akkha Masoor Biryani is a delight in every bite hitting those right notes. And you keep wanting more.

To be honest, I fell into the category where I thought Chicken/Mutton ke bina Biryani nahi hoti that is there is no such thing as a delectable veg biryani. The memes on veg biryani would crack me up. And then, when I came across the recipe of Akkha Masoor Biryani on you-tube, my husband who is an avid fan of akkha masoor wanted to make it. We started to make and didn’t know what to expect. BUT….WE WERE FLOORED!!!!!!!!!This had to be the best veg biryani we ever had. Having made it ‘n’ number of times and changed it to suit it to our needs I knew this had to be on the blog. This definitely needed to be shared with you guys.

Don’t let the process intimidate you. It is a long process but definitely worth all your efforts and time.

Want to make this with sprouted Masoor?

Soak the masoor overnight in sufficient water. The next morning discard the water completely and keep the masoor wrapped in a cloth and on a strainer or hang it somewhere it can receive enough air. This will help the masoor to sprout quickly. This method is what we follow at our home.

How to make fried onions (Birista)?

Apply 1 tsp of salt to the sliced onions and keep aside for 15 minutes and then deep fry them till they turn golden.

Akkha Masoor Biryani

Recipe by Samrudhi MaheshCourse: Main, Lunch, DinnerCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Medium

Servings

3-4

servings

Prep time

2

hours 

Cooking time

1

hour 

Total time

3

hours 

A flavourful, spicy Akka Masoor Biryani.

Ingredients

• Akkha Masoor (Indian whole brown lentils) – 125 grams

• Long Grain Basmati Rice – 250 grams

• Onions- 2 medium sized – finely chopped

• Tomatoes – 2 medium sized-finely chopped

• Green Chilies 2-3

• Ginger- Garlic Paste – 1 and half tablespoon

• Turmeric Powder – 1 teaspoon

• Red chilli powder- 1 and half tablespoon (or adjust according to your spice level)

• Garam Masala- 1/2 tablespoon

• Curd- 1/4 cup

• 2-3 Black Peppercorn – 2-3

• Cinnamon stick – 1/2 inch

• Bay Leaves – 2

• Cloves- 4-5

• Black cardamom – 1-2

• Ghee – 1- 2 tablespoon

• Saffron Soaked in ¼ Cup warm Milk

• Cooking Oil – as required

• Potatoes – 1 medium sized

• Fried Onions – 1 cup or as required

• Fresh Coriander Leaves – 1/2 cup

• Mint leaves – 1/2 cup

• Salt- to taste

• water- as required

Directions

• Wash the whole masoor. Soak it for 2 hours. Wash rice and let it soak for 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can also use sprouted masoor.
• In a pan add enough water and salt to taste and add soaked masoor. Cover with a lid and let the masoor cook.
• Till the masoor is cooking, in a pan heat around 2-3 tablespoon. Add the chopped Onions. Sauté the onions till they become translucent. Then add the ginger and garlic paste and sauté it for 30 seconds.
• Then add the chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and sauté well.
• Add the yogurt and sauté and cook further till oil oozes out.
• Add the tomatoes and sauté till the tomatoes are well cooked and mushy. Finally add the masoor, mix well and cook for about 5 -7 mins. Check seasoning, or add salt.
• In another pan, add 1.5-2 liters of water. Add bay leaves, pepper-corn, cinnamon stick, cloves and black cardamom. Add around 1 teaspoon of oil and enough salt to season the water. (check notes).Let the water come to boil and then add soaked Rice. Cook rice until the rice is al-dente or almost 90% done.
• Drain the excess water and set the rice aside.
• Grease the bottom and sides of Handi (Pot) with clarified butter. slice the potatoes in roundels roughly of 0.5cm. Arrange them at the bottom on your pot. Now we can start layering. Add a layer of masoor. Spread fried onions, half the quantity of rice. Put saffron milk, coriander leaves, some more fried onions and some clarified butter on top. This completes the first layer of Biryani.
• For second layer, put masoor dal, fried onions, remaining quantity of rice, saffron milk, coriander leaves, clarified butter and some more fried onions. This completes the final layering.
• Seal Biryani Handi with dough and place Biryani Handi for 2 mins on high heat. Thereafter, transfer the handi on an iron griddle placed on a medium heat and cook for 10 mins. Switch off the heat.
• Serve a raita as an accompaniment with Biryani

Notes

• If you want to cook the masoor in a pressure cooker. Cook it for one whistle.

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Looking for more rice recipes?

Try our simple Yellow Rice, and our perfect Jeera Rice.

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