Making Spicy Mushroom Biryani

Preparation

• Rinse rice grains a few time until the water is clear of starch. Soak rice in enough water for 20 to 30 mins. 
• Later drain all the water from the rice and set aside. When the rice is soaking, prep up the rest of the ingredients like chopping veggies, herbs and getting the spices ready.

Cooking 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 a portion each of the mint and coriander leaves, tomatoes & curry leaves.
• Mix very well. Sauté this mixture on a low to medium-low heat until the tomatoes soften.
• Then add coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, red chili powder and black pepper powder.
• Mix again very well so that the ground spice powders gets mixed evenly with the rest of the mixture. Sauté for a minute.
• Add sliced mushrooms. Stir again. Sauté on a low to medium heat 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 chopped mint and coriander leaves. Mix again.
• 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 heat cook the biryani until the rice grains are tender, fluffy and all the water has been absorbed. 
• If the rice grains are undercooked and the water has dried up, add about ¼ to ½ cup hot water of more as needed.
• 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 rest for 5 minutes. Then open the lid and gently fluff the rice before serving.

Making Chettinad Biryani

Prepping Rice

• First rinse rice very well in water for a couple of times. Then soak the rice in water for 20 to 30 minutes.
• After 20 to 30 minutes, drain the water from the rice grains. Add 1 teaspoon ghee to the soaked rice.
• Mix and coat the rice with ghee very well and allow to marinate for 10 to 15 minutes. Instead of marinating, you can also sauté the rice in ghee lightly in a pan on low heat.

Preparing Veggies And Mushrooms

• When you keep the rice for soaking, prep the remaining ingredients. First rinse or wipe dry and then quarter or slice the mushrooms. Take the mushroom in a mixing bowl and set aside.
• Slice thinly the onions. Chop the tomato. Also chop the green chilies, garlic cloves and ginger. Chop mint and coriander leaves as well.

Making Green Paste

• In a small grinder or chutney grinder, take the chopped mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chilies, garlic and ginger. 
• Add ½ to 1 tablespoon water or as required. Blend to a smooth paste.

Marinating Mushrooms

• Add this ground green paste with the curd to the chopped mushrooms.
• Sprinkle turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and coriander powder.
• Gently mix all the ingredients with the mushrooms. Cover and set aside to marinate for 20 to 30 minutes.

Sautéing Spices, Onions, Tomatoes

• Heat 2 to 2.5 tbsp oil in a thick bottomed pot or pan. Add the whole spices and fry them for a few seconds or until they are fragrant.
• Then add the sliced onions. Mix very well and sauté them on a low to medium heat. Add a pinch of salt for quick cooking of the onions.
• Stir often and sauté until the onions become golden.
• Add tomatoes. Stir and sauté the tomatoes for about 2 minutes.

Cooking Mushrooms

• Add the marinated mushrooms. Mix very well and sauté the mushrooms for 6 to 7 minutes or until they shrink and you see oil specks on top.
• In the bowl where the mushrooms were marinated, there will be some marinade left. Add 1 cup water and mix the marinade with the water. 
• Add water as required depending on quality of rice. You can add from ½ to 1 cup water. I used organic basmati rice, so I added 1 cup of water.
• Add this water to the mushrooms. Also add 1 cup coconut milk. Mix very well.
• Season with salt and stir. On a medium heat bring the mixture to a boil.

Cooking Rice

• Then add the ghee coated rice. Mix again gently.
• Cover the pot or pan with a lid. Check once or twice when rice is cooking.
• On a low heat cook until the rice grains are tender and soft. 
• It took me 12 minutes for the rice to cook. Depending on the thickness and depth of pan, quality of rice and flame intensity, it can take about 10 to 12 minutes to cook rice.
• Once the rice grains are tender, cover and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving mushroom biryani. Then gently fluff the rice with a fork.
• Garnish with mint or coriander leaves and serve Chettinad mushroom biryani with a side salad or raita.

Serving Suggestions

• Both the mushroom biryanis are best served with a side of raita. Choose to make any of your favorite raita. Cucumber Raita, Onion Tomato Raita, Boondi Raita or Mint Raita are some of the options. Simple plain curd (yogurt) also tastes good with the biryani.
• You can garnish any of the biryanis with mint or coriander leaves. If you do not like raita or yogurt, pair with a few lemon wedges and a fresh Vegetable Salad and a roasted or fried papadums.
• Both the biryanis have a lot of spices and are really flavorful, so I would recommend serving them without any curry or gravy. You can also enjoy the biryani as it without any sides.

Storage And Leftovers

• Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 day. Keep the biryani in a covered container.
• While reheating, either sauté until warm or hot in a skillet or steam for 5 minutes in a pot or an Instant Pot.