Masoor Daal Biryani

I love to eat meat and most of the times you’d hear me saying ‘agr biryani bananay ki mehnat krni hi hai to gosht ki hi banao bhyee‘ (Make biryani with meat bruh if you are doing so much effort) *insert facepalm emoji here*. But last week I was so done with eating meat, didn’t want to have daal chawal either so I came up with this recipe. Surprisingly, it turned out good. Even HI looked impressed with daal. Haha

Initially I didn’t plan on sharing the recipe but many of you asked for it when I showcased it on my Instagram stories, lol. So here it goes..

Is adding Qeema to Masoor Daal Biryani mandatory?

Well, it’s not. I added only 1 tbsp of leftover qeema to it that was getting ignored in the refrigerator since forever. My recipe doesn’t call for qeema specially. And well, there are no rules when you are cooking.

My Kitchen, My RulZ 🤘🏻 Haha

About Masoor Daal Biryani: A biryani that looks exactly like usual biryani but is devoid of meat. Made with masoor (kali) daal and lots of love to feed the family.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cuisine: Pakistani/Indian/Desi

Course: Main

Serves:	3-4	Ease Level:	⭐⭐⭐
Prep Time:	15 mins	Quickness:	⭐⭐⭐
Cooking Time:	60 mins	Spice Level:	⭐⭐⭐

Above ratings are out of 5, with 5⭐ being the ‘most’.
Above times do not include soaking and boiling times.

Masoor Daal Biryani – THE RECIPE

GET:

Cooking Spoons
Cooking pot
Knife
Cutting board
Bowls to soak daal and rice

SET:

Masoor daal 250 gm (preferably soaked)
Oil 200ml
Ginger Garlic Paste 1 tbsp
Onions 2 (medium sized, julienne cut)
Red chili powder 1.5 tsp
Salt 1.25 tsp (or to taste)
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Tomato julienne cut 1 big
Coriander Leaves 3 tbsp chopped
Mint Leaves 3 tbsp chopped
Lemon 1 sliced
Any boxed biryani masala 2 tbsp
Red food color 1 tsp (optional)
Biryani essence 1 tsp (optional)
Leftover qeema (totally optional)

For Rice:

Rice 1.5 cup (around 400 gms)
Salt 2 tsp
Lemon juice 2 tbsp
All Spices

Black Peppercorns 7-8 tsp
Cloves 3-4
Cinnamon sticks 1-2
Green Cardamoms 1-2
Star anise 1-2
Bay leaves 1-2

GO:

Soak and boil daal.
Fry onions in oil until they turn light golden.
Add ginger garlic paste followed by salt and all the masalas. Cook until oil comes on top.
Throw in boiled daal and mix (add leftover qeema at this stage if you have)
Layer tomatoes, lemon slices, green chilies, chopped coriander and mint leaves over daal mixture.
Sprinkle red food color over it.
Cover the lid and cook it on low flame for about 5 mins.
Separately boil rice with all the above stated ingredients until they’re 3/4th done.
Spread the boiled rice over the layered daal.
Give Dum/ Cook it over low flame for about 20 mins.
Dish out and enjoy the Masoor Daal biryani with Raita and Salad.

MY TWO CENTS:

Adjust the spices to suit your taste buds.
You can try this with any kind of daal, don’t be afraid of trying.
I used Shan Tikka Boti masala because I was out of all biryani masalas in my pantry when i made it.
Let the rice rest for about 5-10 minutes after turning off the heat and before removing the lid i.e. after ‘Dum’.
You can make it without mint and coriander leaves. But one of them should be used.

Hope you’ll enjoy trying it out.
I’d love to get your feedback. Feel free to drop a comment below about your experience. And/or tag me on Instagram and Facebook too 🙂

Happy cooking👨‍🍳👩‍🍳