So when the rice is soaking, prep up the rest of the ingredients like chopping veggies etc.
making south indian mushroom biryani
Heat oil in a deep pan or pot. Make sure that the bottom of the pan is thick, otherwise the rice can get browned or burned.
When the oil becomes hot, add all the whole spices - fennel, cumin, cloves, tej patta, cinnamon, green cardamoms, star anise and mace.
Fry the spices till fragrant for a few seconds.
Then add chopped onions and saute till translucent.
Next add ginger-garlic paste, green chilies, half of mint+coriander leaves, tomatoes & curry leaves.
Stir well. Saute this mixture till the tomatoes soften.
Then add coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, red chili powder and black pepper powder.
Stir again very well so that the masalas or dry spice powders gets mixed evenly with the rest of the mixture.
Add sliced mushrooms. Stir again. Saute on a low to medium flame for 6 to 8 minutes. Keep on stirring at intervals.
Then add water. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the rice. Add rest of the mint+coriander leaves. Stir.
Season with salt. Check the taste of the stock and it should taste a bit salty.
Cover the pan with a lid. On a low flame cook the biryani till the rice grains are cooked well and all the water is absorbed.
In case if the rice grains are not cooked and the water has dried up, then add about ¼ to ½ cup water of more if required.
You have to keep on checking the rice a couple of times to see if the water dries up or not.
Once done, allow the biryani to sit for 5 minutes. Then open the lid and gently fluff the rice.
Serve this south indian mushroom biryani with onion-tomato raita.
Notes
I have made the biryani with button mushroom because thats the only variety of mushroom we get here. You can make this south indian mushroom biryani with any variety of mushrooms.