The good old veg. biyani

Hmm I could never get it right. It was always almost right and I would wonder what goes into the make a really nice biryani. Should I add onions, should I add ginger garlic paste, tomatoes, yoghurt (vids adds it), what condiments, should I add tomatoes! Woah too many combinations to try. Well I didnt try the one with the yoghurt. Sam's mom has a recipe that has yoghurt and mint biryani (that VC reproduced for us)that looks very promising but well is elaborate. So here is my simple biryani that just worked out perfectly for me.
Amongst the ingredients, I think getting these 3 right were the key for me. Onions (fried till they turned brown (yes burnt onions honie), ginger garlic paste (I always undermined it), cloves (that too powdered - i didnt finely powder it).
So here it goes (sorry no photo for it yet - next time may be)
Ingredients:
1) Heat oil. Add bay leaves, one cardomom - two cloves (try to powder last 2 a little bit - we will add more cloves later too) + jeera
2) Add onions - chopped and may be half (US size) and 1 full (indian large size) - fry till they are brown and you have started cursing me thinking that I fooled you as you think they will be burnt soon (dont let it turn black though dude)
3) Add chopped tomatoes( I add 1-2 depending on availability) and ginger garlic paste (1 teaspoon) (I bought 1 ginger garlic paste bottle from mayuri for the first time and I cant stop using it in all my dishes :)). Let the tomatoes melt.
4) Add some garam masala to it.
5) Open a mix vegetable pack (mine contains - corn, peas, carrots, french beans and large seeds of the other type of beans - all cut (corn peas seeds not cut)
6) then add rice - i add a good amount of it (the biryani typically lasts me a week and I have to sometimes call paramesh to finish it off :P). Add water so that the water level is 3 fingers above rice (This funda I came up with while writing this entry and might not work for all - please dont run away).
7) Add the ground cloves too. Also add SALT.
8) Now let it boil in high flame - get one whistle. Simmer, for another whistle (actually this varies from cooker to cooker. I have just figured my cooker by cooking a lot :)).

Chicken biryani should be never made in cooker - says VC and sam's mom - as the flavor doesnt come. I will post their recipe too. It is more professional than the one above.
Hey but didnt I tell you - Indian cooking is all about approximation - aren't all art forms :).

Do make sure that you supplement the biryani with a yoghurt with a little salt, some chopped onions in it. Enjoy! :)