Masoor Biryani

 Ingredients for Masoor Biryani:

1. Masoor daal with shell – ½ cup
2. Onion sliced thin – 4
3. Chopped onion – 3
4. Chopped tomato – 2
5. Shallots – 5
6. Ghee and refined oil taken in equal amounts – 10 spoons total
7. Sugar – 2 tsp
8. Lemon juice – ½ lemon
9. Cardamom – 6

To grind:

1. Garlic – 6 cloves
2. Kashmiri chilli – 5
3. Green chillies – 3
4. Coriander – 1 tsp
5. Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
6. Ginger – 1-inch piece

For rice:

1. Basmati rice – 2 cups
2. Salt – as needed
3. Ghee – A little

Method of preparation of  Masoor Biryani:

1. Pre-heat oven to 150 degree celsious
2. Fry rice in a little ghee, add double the quantity of water and cook well. Rice should not be sticky.
3. Fry sliced onion and cardamom in a little ghee and add to rice.
4. Soak daal for 3-4 hours. Wash it and 1 ¾ cups of water, shallots, salt and a little ghee, and cook in a pressure cooker. But never overcook it.
5. Heat 4 big spoons of ghee in a pan, and add chopped onions. Sauté till it becomes deep brown.
6. Add the ground paste and cook for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Add cooked daal and cook for 10 minutes. Add sugar, lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves and stir well. Turn the flame off.
8. Mix this gravy with cooked rice and bake in a pre-heated oven for half an hour. The temperature is 150 degree celsious. Or bake just 5 minutes before serving.