bombay biryani recipe with step by step pics – aromatic and spiced, bombay style dum vegetable biryani recipe.

biryani is a favorite dish at home. i do go extra lengths in preparing biryanis as firstly we love biryani and secondly i just need to make a simple raita with biryani. i have already posted many biryani varieties like:

1. veg biryani recipe
2. mushroom biryani
3. vegetable biryani in pressure cooker
4. lucknowi biryani recipe
5. restaurant style dum biryani recipe

as the name suggests bombay biryani has originated from mumbai aka bombay. the non vegetarian version of bombay biryani is popular. here i am sharing a vegetarian version of this biryani. the biryani is fragrant and spiced and really good.

good amount of tomatoes and potatoes along with the spices are added in this biryani. potatoes are fried and added, but i just cooked them together with the veggies. birista or fried onions are also added in the biryani. dried plums are also added. if you have dried plums then you can add them.

this mumbai biryani also does not have dry fruits in it. for the color, i used natural orange color extract. if you want, you can use some saffron dissolved in milk to give some color. as always with any mixed veggie recipe, you can add your choice of veggies to the biryani.

like all biryanis, this is a dum cooked biryani. you can tightly seal and cook the bombay biryani on stove top or in the oven. i do both on occasions. when its a small amount i cook on stove top. and when its a lot of biryani, i cook in the oven. you can choose the option which suits you.

i cook biryanis often at home, especially when we have guests or for get togethers. i can proudly say that after cooking biryanis for so many years now, i have become good in making them. i will be sharing more biryani varieties in the near future.

5 from 7 votes

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bombay biryani recipe

mumbai style vegetable dum biryani recipe 

course main course

cuisine indian

prep time 1 hour

cook time 30 minutes

total time 1 hour 30 minutes

servings 5 to 6

author dassana

ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)

for the rice

• 1.5 cups basmati rice or 300 grams basmati rice
• 4 to 5 whole black pepper (sabut kali mirch)
• 1 star anise (chakriphool)
• 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
• 2 cloves (lavang)
• 2 green cardamoms (hari elaichi or choti elaichi)
• 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
• 1 large tej patta or 2 small to medium tej patta (indian bay leaf)
• 2 single strands of mace (javitri)
• 5 cups water
• ¾ to 1 teaspoon salt or add as required

for birista

• 250 grams onions Or 2 large onions Or 2 cups thinly sliced onions
• 7 tablespoon oil

for vegetable gravy

• 1 teaspoon shahjeera (caraway seeds)
• 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
• 4 green cardamoms (hari elaichi or choti elaichi)
• 4 cloves (lavang)
• 2 single strands of mace (javitri)
• 2 all spice (kabab chini) - optional
• 1 large tej patta or 2 small to medium tej patta (indian bay leaf)
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste Or 1 inch ginger and 9 to 10 medium sized garlic crushed to a paste in mortar-pestle
• 1 green chili (hari mirch) - chopped
• 250 grams tomatoes Or 3 medium to large tomatoes Or 1.25 cups tomatoes
• 300 grams potatoes Or 4 medium potatoes Or 1.5 cups diced potatoes
• 2 to 3 medium or small to medium carrots Or 1 cup chopped carrots (gajar)
• 1/3 cup fresh or frozen peas (matar) - tightly packed
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder (dhania powder)
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder (jeera powder)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
• 4 to 5 prunes (dried plums) - optional
• ½ cup curd (yogurt or dahi)
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt or add as required

for layering bombay biryani

• ½ tablespoon chopped mint leaves (pudina patta)
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta)
• ½ tablespoon ghee
• 1 to 2 teaspoon kewra water (pandanus extract) - optional
• a few drops of natural orange or yellow color - (optional)
• ½ cup birista or fried onions

how to make bombay biryani recipe

preparing rice for bombay biryani

1. rinse basmati rice very well in water. soak the rice in enough water for 30 minutes.
2. when the rice is soaking, chop all the veggies and keep aside. take all the spices and keep aside. below is a pic of spices that we will add to the rice.
3. after 30 minutes drain the water from the rice.
4. heat 5 cups of water in a pan and bring to a boil on a medium to high flame.
5. add the whole spices or garam masala mentioned under 'for the rice' list.
6. then add the rice. season with salt.
7. add 1/2 tbsp lemon juice.
8. on the same flame intensity, simmer the rice till the grains 3/4th cooked.
9. drain the cooked rice in a colander and keep aside.

making birista for bombay biryani

1. heat 7 tbsp oil in a pan. add 2 cups of thinly sliced onions.
2. stir and saute the onions till they turn golden. add a pinch of salt to hasten the cooking process.
3. stir often and saute till the onions become golden.
4. remove the crisp fried onions or birista with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper towels. from 2 cups of sliced onions, you will get about 1 cup of birista. we will use 1/2 of the birista in the gravy and the remaining half in the layering.

making vegetable gravy for bombay biryani

1. in the same pan, add the whole spices for the gravy.
2. stir and saute till the spices become fragrant.
3. now add diced or chopped potatoes and carrots. stir well.
4. saute the potatoes and carrots for 5 to 6 minutes.
5. with a spoon, bring them to the sides and add 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste. saute the ginger-garlic paste in the same place till the their raw aroma goes away.
6. now add 1.25 cups chopped tomatoes.
7. stir and mix very well.
8. add the spice powders - 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chili powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder. also add prunes or dried plums if you have them. about 4 to 5 dried plums. stir and saute for a minute.
9. add 1/3 cup tightly packed fresh or frozen green peas. stir.
10. now add 1/2 of the birista or fried onions.
11. season with salt and stir again.
12. add 1 cup water.
13. stir very well. cover and cook on a medium flame till the veggies are cooked. you can also use a pressure cooker for the cooking of the veggies. just add less water, about 2/3 to 3/4 cup if cooking veggies in a pressure cooker.
14. the veggies have to be cooked well but should retain their shape. the gravy should also thicken and should not be of watery consistency.
15. whisk 1/2 cup fresh curd/dahi in a bowl till smooth and keep aside.
16. once the veggies are done, place the pan down and add 1/2 cup beaten or whisked curd/dahi/yogurt.
17. stir very well. check the taste and add more salt if required. keep this vegetable gravy aside.

layering and dum cooking bombay biryani

1. i cooked the biryani in the oven. you can also cook in a thick bottomed pan or pot or even in a dutch oven. pour half of the vegetable gravy in the pan or pot.
2. layer evenly with the cooked rice.
3. sprinkle 1/4 tbsp chopped mint leaves and 1/2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves.
4. now sprinkle 1/4 portion of the fried onions evenly.
5. again make a second layer of the vegetable gravy evenly.
6. spread a third layer of the rice.
7. top up with the remaining chopped mint, coriander leaves and fried onions. also add 1 to 2 tsp of kewra water.
8. dot with 1/2 tbsp ghee. you can also sprinkle some natural color if you want.

9. cover tightly with a foil. bake the bombay biryani at 180 degrees celsius for 30 to 35 minutes. 

10. if dum cooking bombay biryani on a stove top, then also you can cover with a foil or with a moist kitchen towel. place the pan on a hot tava/griddle. on a low to medium flame dum cook the veg biryani for 30 to 35 minutes.

11. allow the bombay biryani to stand for some minutes. then serve this aromatic and spiced veg bombay biryani with your favorite raita.

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how to make veg bombay biryani recipe

preparing and cooking rice

1. rinse basmati rice very well in water. soak the rice in enough water for 30 minutes. you can use any good quality of basmati rice. i used organic basmati rice.

2. when the rice is soaking, chop all the veggies and keep aside. take all the spices and keep aside. below is a pic of spices that we will add to the rice – green cardamoms, black cardamom, black pepper, one strand of mace, tej patta, star anise and cloves.

3. after 30 minutes drain the water from the rice.

4. heat 5 cups of water in a pan and bring to a boil on a medium to high flame.

5. add the whole spices or garam masala.

6. add the rice.

7. season with salt.

8. add ½ tbsp lemon juice.

9. on the same flame, simmer the rice till the grains are ¾th cooked.

10. drain the cooked rice in a colander and keep aside. you can also check this detailed post on how to cook basmati rice for biryani.

preparing birista or fried onions

11. heat 7 tbsp oil in a pan. add 2 cups of thinly sliced onions.

12. stir.

13. saute the onions till they turn golden. add a pinch of salt to hasten the cooking process.

14. stir often and saute till the onions become golden.

15. remove the crisp fried onions or birista with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper towels. from 2 cups of sliced onions, you will get about 1 cup of birista. we will use ½ of the birista in the gravy and the remaining ½ in the layering.

preparing vegetable gravy for bombay biryani

16. in the same pan, add the whole spices for the gravy.

17. here’s a close up pic of the spices. in clockwise order – tej patta. strands of mace, all spice (optional), green cardamoms, cinnamon and cloves. caraway seeds or shah jeera is not shown in this pic.

18. stir and saute till the spices become fragrant.

19. now add diced or chopped potatoes and carrots.

20. stir well.

21. saute the potatoes and carrots for 5 to 6 minutes.

22. with a spoon, bring them to the sides and add 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste. saute the ginger-garlic paste in the same place till the their raw aroma goes away.

23. now add 1.25 cups chopped tomatoes.

24. stir and mix very well.

25. add the spice powders – ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chili powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder. also add prunes or dried plums if you have them. about 4 to 5 dried plums.

26. add chopped green chilies. stir and saute for a minute.

27. add ⅓ cup tightly packed fresh or frozen green peas. stir.

28. now add ½ of the birista or fried onions.

29. season with salt and stir again.

30. add 1 cup water.

31. stir very well. cover and cook on a medium flame till the veggies are cooked. you can also use a pressure cooker for the cooking of the veggies. just add less water, about ⅔ to ¾ cup if cooking veggies in a pressure cooker and cook for 1 whistle.

32. the veggies have to be cooked well but should retain their shape. the gravy should also thicken and should not be of watery consistency.

33. whisk ½ cup fresh curd/dahi in a bowl till smooth and keep aside.

34. once the veggies are done, place the pan down and add the beaten or whisked curd (dahi or yogurt).

35. stir very well. check the taste and add more salt if required. keep this vegetable gravy aside.

layering bombay biryani

1. i dum cooked the bombay biryani in the oven. you can also cook in a thick bottomed pan or pot or even in a dutch oven. pour half of the vegetable gravy in the pan or pot.

2. layer evenly with the cooked rice.

3. sprinkle ¼ tbsp chopped mint leaves and ½ tbsp chopped coriander leaves.

4. now sprinkle ¼ portion of the fried onions evenly.

5. again make a second layer of the vegetable gravy evenly.

6. spread a third layer of the rice.

7. top up with the remaining chopped mint, coriander leaves and fried onions. also add 1 to 2 tsp of kewra water.

8. dot with ½ tbsp ghee. you can also sprinkle some natural color if you want.

9. cover tightly with a foil. bake the bombay biryani at 180 degrees celsius for 30 to 35 minutes. if dum cooking bombay biryani on a stove top, then also you can cover with a foil or with a moist kitchen towel. place the pan on a hot tava/griddle. on a low to medium flame dum cook the mumbai veg biryani for 30 to 35 minutes.

10. allow the bombay biryani to stand for some minutes.

11. then serve this aromatic spiced bombay biryani with your favorite raita.

dassana amit

Founder, Designer, Recipe Developer, Food Photographer || MORE ABOUT US

i started vegrecipesofindia.com in feb 2009. it is a pure vegetarian blog and shares recipes with step by step photos that will help you to make delicious and tasty vegetarian food easily.

i am passionate about cooking from childhood and learnt cooking from my elders. having a home science degree surely enhanced my cooking & baking skills which i now share as fool proof recipes on the blog. i am trained both in mainstream indian as well as international cuisines.