Biryani to me is special-occasion food. Right from childhood, a biryani meal has always stood for something – the end of exams, a large family gathering at home, a good friend’s wedding, a birthday, lunch after a movie with close friends – you get the drift. A good biryani always stood for something and while I end up making it more often so I can share different recipes on the blog here, I make biryani when I am happy and want to make a special meal out of it. So what’s the special occasion that made me make this baby potato biryani, you ask? Well, baby potatoes are one of TH’s favourites and I have been meaning to add them to biryani for ages now. After postponing for months, years even, I decided to make it happen in time for our 7th wedding anniversary. I will spare you the usual “time has flown” yada yada but I will say this. Even after all this, nothing beats the casual weekends when I make something I love to cook and we sit down to eat a nice, simple, homemade meal. My recipes are usually simple and quick, suited for the busy, lazy, beginner, time-strapped cooks. This recipe is not particularly difficult, but it does have a few different steps, something I thought I would avoid after learning how to make biryani in a pressure cooker. It’s definitely worth the effort though so I’d say just make a simple raita to go with it, the biryani doesn’t need anything else anyway. Other biryani recipes you may love: Hyderabadi vegetable dum biryani Soya chunks biryani Gobi biryani Pressure cooker vegetable biryani Egg biryani Pressure cooker chicken biryani recipe Mushroom biryani More baby potato recipes: Bombay potatoes Dum aloo recipe Aloo capsicum pulao Potatoes in coriander red sauce Spicy baby potato masala Step by step intructions to make baby potato biryani Wash and soak the basmati rice for 20 mins Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan and roast the whole spices on low heat for 30 seconds and add to the soaking rice. I use rice:water ratio 1:2. Also add chopped mint and coriander leaves Cook until done Meanwhile, grind the spice paste – tomatoes, coriander leaves, green chillies, ginger, and garlic – and set aside Cook the baby potatoes until tender. I used the pressure cooker and cooked it for 2 whistles, about 10-12 mins. When cool enough to handle, peel and set aside. In the same pan used for roasting spices, add 2 tbsp ghee and fry the potatoes until light golden brown. Drain and set aside. In the remaining ghee in the pan, add the sliced onions and fry until golden brown. Set aside 2 tbsp or so for garnishing later. To the remaining onions, add the ground spice paste and curd. Mix well on low heat. Now add all the spice powders – chilli, turmeric, cumin, coriander, biryani masala – and mix again. Add the fried potatoes and mix until well coated. Cook for 2-3 mins until the spice paste and potatoes get friendly. Add salt. Bring out your cooked rice, fluff lightly, and add to the potato-masala mixture. Gently mix the rice, check for salt, pat down, and let it sit for one hour or so for all the flavours to mingle Serve baby potato biryani with raita, papad, and pickles. Notes: – I really loved the spice paste in this recipe and will use it as a base for my biryanis in future – I felt like the potatoes were a bit bland even after all this effort of frying them, mixing with the spice paste, etc. Next time, I’ll try mixing the peeled potatoes with some spice powder and frying it that way. Pricking the cooked potatoes with a fork also helps them soak the spices and flavours better – You can add some lemon juice to this biryani but I felt the tanginess from the tomatoes were enough For baby potato biryani in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, etc, please use the Google Translate button in the sidebar.
