Indians can’t do without their daals, be it chana , urad or moong. A part of almost every meal, lentils are an easy and inexpensive way of amping up our intake of protein, fiber and essential minerals. We can serve these with a side of rice or roti for a complete meal . You could make Biryanis or stuffed Parathas , the variety is enormous .

So here is another Biryani called Quabooli . This is the famous biryani from Hyderabad, the city of nawabs . The Biryani is cooked with basmati rice and Chana Daal .Chana dal or Bengal gram dal is one of the richest vegan source of dietary proteins. It is also rich in trace minerals like copper, manganese etc.

 

I made a version of this Quabooli Biryani long back , this time it is a completely different recipe . The rice is cooked with whole spices making them really fragrant. The tomatoes are cooked till mushy and mixed with the boiled daal. Fried onions , mint leaves are add ons to  flavour the Biryani . Last but not the least ghee ! Ghee is added, which when seeps in gives a heavenly aroma and flavor. I served the Biryani with Paalak aur khajoor ka raita balancing the meal and making it Protein Rich.

 

Hyderabadi Quabooli Biryani

Ingredients

3/4 cup Bengal gram , soaked for 2 hours
3 tbsp oil
11/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
4 tsp red chilly powder
3 tomatoes , chopped
Salt to taste
1 cup beaten curd
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 tsp garam masala
Orange food color

Rice

2 cups rice
4 cups water
1 tsp shahi jeera
2 green cardamom
1″stick cinnamon
2-3 cloves
Handful mint and coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Method

Daal

Pressure cook the soaked daal with salt and turmeric powder for two whistles .
The daal should not be mushy .
If there’s any extra water drain it .
Heat 3 tbsp oil and add ginger garlic paste. Sauté for a minute .
Add chopped tomatoes and let cook till mushy.
Add red chilly powder , garam masala , beaten curd and mix well .
Add Chana Daal and mix .
Keep aside .

Rice

Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes.
Place a pot and put 4 cups of water.
Add shahi jeera, cardamom, cinnamon , cloves and salt .
Let the water come to a rolling boil .
Add the coriander and mint leaves .
Add rice and cook on full flame till the rice is 90% done.
Simmer the flame , cover the rice and cook till done .
In case you feel the rice needs more water to cook add just the amount required.

Assembling the Biryani

Remove half the rice from the pot .
Add the cooked Daal , layer of fried onions, half of mint and coriander leaves .
Add the rice back layering the daal .
Sprinkle fried onion, coriander and mint leaves .
Dissolve a little food colour .
Make random holes in the Biryani and put drops of food color in some places . Fill rest of the holes with ghee .
Apply chapati dough around the pot and cover and cook the rice on very slow fame for 10-15 minutes .
Alternatively you can layer the Biryani in a oven proof dish , cover with a foil and bake .

Hyderabadi Quabooli Biryani

A unique High Protein lentil biryani from Hyderabad, the city of Nawabs.
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Indian Cuisine
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup Bengal soaked for 2 hours
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 11/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 4 tsp red chilly powder
  • 3 tomatoes chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 cup beaten curd
  • 1/2 cup coriander leaves
  • 1/2 cup mint leaves
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • orange food color

Rice

  • 2 cups rice
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 tsp shahi jeera
  • 2 green cardamom
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 2-3 cloves
  • leaves Handful mint and coriander
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

Daal

  • Pressure cook the soaked daal with salt and turmeric powder for two whistles .
  • The daal should not be mushy .
  • If there's any extra water drain it .
  • Heat 3 tbsp oil and add ginger garlic paste. Sauté for a minute .
  • Add chopped tomatoes and let cook till mushy.
  • Add red chilly powder , garam masala , beaten curd and mix well .
  • Add chana daal and mix .
  • Keep aside .

Rice

  • Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes.
  • Place a pot and put 4 cups of water.
  • Add shahi jeera, cardamom, cinnamon , cloves and salt .
  • Let the water come to a rolling boil .
  • Add the coriander and mint leaves .
  • Add rice and cook on full flame till the rice is 90% done.
  • Simmer the flame , cover the rice and cook till done .
  • In case you feel the rice needs more water to cook add just the amount required.

Assembling the Biryani

  • Remove half the rice from the pot .
  • Add the cooked Daal , layer of fried onions, half of mint and coriander leaves .
  • Add the rice back layering the daal .
  • Sprinkle fried onion, coriander and mint leaves .
  • Dissolve a little food colour .
  • Make random holes in the Biryani and put drops of food color in some places . Fill rest of the holes with ghee .
  • Apply chapati dough around the pot and cover and cook the rice on very slow fame for 10-15 minutes .
  • Alternatively you can layer the Biryani in a oven proof dish , cover with a foil and bake .

16 thoughts on “Hyderabadi Quabooli Biryani”

  1. I am very bad at layering biryanis but seriously you are a pro in making layered biryanis. This one with lentils looks super tempting and needless to mention the beautiful presentation.

  2. Beautifully presented Briyani. The layers look so good. I haven’t done any layered briyani. Will be coming back to read the procedure after this BM.Need to make this!

  3. Here I was thinking this was a sweetened rice and was wondering how it fits in your diet plan. Needless to say, it’s an awesome biryani. I am sorry Apeksha is moving to Bangalore and I am discovering all these yummy biryanis.

  4. This Quabooli briyani is in my to do list since a long, dunno when am gonna make some. And those layers looks absolutely fabulous, now you are tempting me to make this biryani soon.

  5. I guess valli is already woking on an A-Z biryani list 🙂 ha ha
    this photo in particular suggests that you have changed the location of the shoot from your normal set up.. set up looks fab

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