Vegetable Biryani and Naan

Hey!  Thanks to all of you who left comments yesterday.  I had no idea most of you were out there!  I will try harder to give better measurements for my recipes but since I hardly ever follow a recipe, it will be an effort to remember.  If you ever need more precise measurements, just email me and I will get back to you.  I am a very private person.  I am surprised I ever started blogging and I can't even remember why I did.  I guess when it comes to the internet, I feel like less is more.  And when it comes to photos, I am photo phobic, I always have been.  Most all my family is dead and have been since I was very young so photos are sad for me and I really don't like them.  So, unless someone drops me on my head and I snap out of this, you will just have to use your imagination. The Blog Tech was flattered to hear he had some fans out there! I told Teddy she had lots of fans too but she just ignored me. I used to travel the world and I made mental notes of different architectural features that I admired.  When I created my gardens, I designed different areas with all of the elements I held in memory.  Now I have everything I want here so I rarely leave.  I hope this answers some of your questions and thanks for reading my blog.  On to the recipe!

I love recipes where you realize you don't have the right ingredients and sub something else and the recipe turns out better.  This was one of them.  I made this naan recipe: 

4 cups all-purpose flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup water

3/4 teaspoon rapid rise yeast

3/4 cup warm milk

1 cup greek yogurt

melted butter for brushing

I was out if yogurt but I had a tub of roasted vegetable Greek yogurt dip and subbed that and it added so much flavor.

Mix this into a ball, cover and let it rise about 45 minutes.

Break pieces off and roll them on a sprinkled surface until they are about 1/2 inch thick.

Cook them in  a very hot skillet that has been brushed with a coating of oil.

Flip after a couple minutes.

Brush with butter and sprinkle with garlic salt.

 Here are the ingredients for the biryani:

• Basmati rice – 1 and 1/2 cups
• Chopped onions – 2 cups
• Tomatoes – 1
• Vegetables – 2 cups (carrot, beans, peas, potato)
• Green chilly – 2 (slit)
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
• Red chilly powder – 1 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder – 1 tsp
• Cumin powder – 1 tsp
• Biryani masala – 1 tbsp
• Cinnamon – 1″
• Cardamom – 2
• Cloves – 2
• Small bay leaves – 2
• Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
•  3 cups of chicken stock
• A bunch of finely chopped cilantro
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Ghee or clarified butter – 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

Saute' the spices in the oil and ghee for a few minutes until they give off their aroma. Throw in the vegetables, use any combination you like.  Stir around until they begin to soften and are coated with the spices. Add the rice. Add 3 cups of chicken stock, cover and simmer until the rice is cooked through.  Add more stock if needed.  Stir to fluff and add the chopped cilantro.

I always serve this with chutney and pickled lime relish.