Qabuli biryani is an aromatic and lot of flavor dish of a biryani made with chana dal. This was a spiced and a delicious dum cooked and layered biryani with chickpeas. We can say that this is  a kind of  pulao with full of flavours.

So, Let’s have a glance of Qabuli Chana Biryani-

Preparation Duration – 2 hr

Serve – 4

Course – main

INGREDIENTS- 

For Chana Dal –

340 grams chana dal, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon salt as required, 1 ½ cups water

For Rice –

2 cups basmati rice, 4 cups water, ½ teaspoon salt as required

For Dal gravy –

2 medium sized onions,   4 garlic paste,  ½ ginger paste, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ¾ teaspoon red chili powder, ¾ teaspoon garam masala powder, 1 cup yogurt, 3-4 tablespoons oil, you can use ghee instead of oilsalt as required

For Layering the Biryani –

⅓ cup coriander leaves, ⅓ cup mint leaves, ¼ teaspoon saffron dissolved in 2 tablespoons milk,  2 finely chopped green chilies.

HOW TO MAKE QABULI BIRYANI ?

1. Soak the chana dal for 1 hour and drain it.  Heat 1 ½ cups water in a pan and  add salt to it.
2. When the water comes to a boil, add the chana dal and turmeric powder. Stir and cook in a pan on medium flame till the chana dal gets cooked. Keep the cooked dal aside.
3. Soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes. In a pan, add the basmati rice with salt and water. The pan covered till the rice is about 3/4 cooked.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add the sliced onions till the onions golden brown. Remove 1/2 of the browned onions and keep aside. These onions will be used for layering the biryani.
5. Add ginger-garlic paste in a pan and saute for 1 minute. Add the yogurt slowly and stir. Add the turmeric, red chili, garam masala powder and salt. stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the cooked chana dal and again stir and cook for 2-3 minutes and keep the chana dal gravy aside. In a large pan make a layer of the chana dal gravy. Add the chopped mint, coriander, green chilies and fried onions.
7. Make another layer of half of the cooked rice. Top the rice layer with some mint, coriander, green chilies, fried onions and  saffron.
8. Prepare a third layer of the dal gravy again. Top the dal gravy again with the mint, coriander, green chilies and fried onions. The last and fourth layer is of the rice again. Top the rice layer with the remaining mint, coriander, green chilies, fried onions & saffron.
9. Cover the pan with a tight lid and keep on medium flame. Cook the biryani on dum for 25-30 minutes.
10. Serve Qabuli Biryani with a salad/ raita/pickle.