Semiya Biryani – Vermicelli Biryani Recipe

Semiya biryani / Vermicelli biryani is always one comfort food on a busy day… when you are no mood to cook but still need a hearty & tasty dish on the table and name it dinner… then you got it! Usually Semiya is used make a quick upma or used in sweet dishes like kheer or sneaking in cutlets etc etc… Given a choice, i would choose a simple biryani “khuska” style which can be a one pot dish, no pressure cooker nor whistle counts.. just make it stove top under 30 minutes. My aunt is an expert in making this dish non veg style but today i will sharing a simple home style plain biryani using semiya which is very close to me served with onion raita and egg on the side.

Usually if you say upma 🙄 immediately everyone goes let order take out… never say a word mention and serve it as biryani…..and that plate will be wiped clean in minutes 😆  😛

Some Veg style Biryani recipes to try from our page

1. Broken Wheat Biryani / Cracked wheat Biryani
2. Vegetable Dum Biryani
3. Palak Biryani
4. Mushroom Biryani
5. Khuska Biryani

Some Non veg style Biryani to try from our page

1. Mutton Biryani
2. Chicken Biryani
3. Shrimp Biryani
4. Ambur Mutton Biryani

Lets see how to make this Semiya Biryani

Use ghee from table-1 (1 tablespoon) and roast the vermicelli until lightly golden. Maintian low flame while roasting.

Roast them to a light golden color and remove from pan and let it sit while you work on the masala.

Take a large wide pan just like the pressure cooker pan which would be perfect to cook 2 cups vermicelli. Heat oil and sizzle all the garama masalas… bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin & fennel seeds.

Add in the chopped mint leaves, green chilli and ginger garlic paste to the hot oil and cook till the leaves become crisp. (do not brown them, just saute to make them crisp)

Add in the sliced onion and saute till they turn lightly crisp.

Now its the tomatoes turn to cook, add them and let them cook till soft.

Followed by all  masala powders… turmeric powder, red chilli, coriander powder and salt. (I have used 2 green chillies and hence less red chilli powder… you may add a little more if you prefer spicy)

Now add 2 & 1/2 cups water to the masala. (see notes)

Add in 1 cup dilute coconut milk (it should be a light coconut milk and not of thick consistency)

This is how it will look, you may check for salt at this stage and adjust accordingly. Start cooking this at medium flame.

Slowly it will start to boil… the sides will have vigorous bubbles coming up… now reduce the flame to medium low.

At this stage add the roasted vermicelli. It will drink up all the liquid from the gravy and begin to plump up. Gently stir until most of the liquid is cooked up. (It may take up to 5- 7 minutes for the vermicelli to drink up all the liquid and cook perfectly)

Now add in little ghee and switch off. (The vermicelli will look lightly watery at this stage but will become dry after few minutes of switching off)

Now garnish with coriander leaves and fluff up the cooked vermicelli with a fork. Remove from the hot pan and transfer it to different wide tray or bowl to cool. This step is crucial, make sure you transfer to different pan to cool, this way the cooked vermicelli won’t cake up and look fluffy and separated)

Served in style with a boiled egg and some onion raita.

Some Semiya recipes to try from our page

1. Ragi Semiya Upma
2. Semiya Upma

Notes

• Serves 4
• For any regular vermicelli dish- its 2 cups water for every cup of vermicelli. (for regular upma kind of dish)
• I’ve used 2 cups vermicelli – 2 &1/2 cup water + 1 cup coconut milk for a fluffy texture. The water from the gravy also adds up… which will be perfect to cook them to the right texture.
• Coconut milk is optional but this is a plain biryani with no vegetables for flavoring and that coconut milk makes all the difference. We use it for all plain biryanis and you will note a significant difference in taste.

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