A spicy and a tangy biryani made with the potatoes and Punjabi special wadi or the spicy sun-dried lentil nuggets or fryums is what I am going to share today. Check out how I made this Waki ki biryani recipe in Instant Pot with step-wise pictures.
Punjabi Wadi:
We are in the last stretch of the Biryani-Pulao and Kichadi marathon. I am going share Wadi ki Biryani for the alphabet “W.” Before getting into the recipe, let me share about Wadi. Wadi is nothing but sun-dried lentil fryums/nuggets or dumplings. I know, it is referred by a lot of names. I got confused with the spelling as well – I read vadiyan and warrian as well. But the usage of wadi prevalently so went with that.
Wadis are more like Tamil Nadu Karuvadagam. Karuvadagam is also sun-dried fryums, and we prepare it with black-eyed peas and urad dal along with white pumpkin. You can use fried karuvadagams as rice accompaniments, and also we add them vathal kuzhambu. Wadis are spicy sun-dried fryums made with different lentils. It’s a bit spicier than karuvadagam. But I can’t wait to try it in vathal kuzhambu and mor kuzhambu. :-)
Wadi ki Biryani:
I know, instead of biryani, I am talking about the kuzhambu/tamarind based stews. Ok, let me get back to the biryani now. I came across a lot of aloo/potato and wadi curries, so I decided to include potatoes and peas along with the wadi in this biryani. I did not include any other vegetables, and also I used basic whole spices and garam masala to spice it up further. The amchur powder adds that tangy kick. You can include lemon juice instead, but I prefer amchur powder especially in this biryani.
I am using the word “spicy” a lot, but believe me, folks; this biryani is not spicy at all. To my surprise, kiddo loved this biryani a lot. And I packed this for his lunch too. You can serve this with plain yogurt, and you don’t need raitas or curries.
I used store-bought wadis and please don’t think if you should buy wadis just for this recipe. I have quite a few South Indian and North Indian curry recipes coming up. So go on and purchase those wadis. :-)
Ok, now let me share how I made this super simple wadi ki biryani in Instant Pot.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- Two cloves
- Two cardamom
- One bay leaf
- 1-inch cinnamon
- 1/2 cup wadi, crushed
- One onion, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- Two tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp amchur powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 cup peas
- 1/2 cup potato cubes
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 cup basmati rice, washed and soaked for 20 minutes and drained
- 1 1/3 cup water
Prep-Work:
- Wash and soak the basmati rice for 20 minutes and drain the water.
- Crush the wadis into small bite-sized pieces.
- Chop the required amount of potato cubes. I used two small potatoes.
- Cut the onion and tomato.
Steps:
- Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and when the display shows “HOT” add the oil.
- After 30 seconds, add the cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon, and the wadi.
- Fry for a minute.
- Then add the onion and ginger-garlic paste and cook for two minutes.
- Next, add the tomatoes, red chili powder, salt, turmeric powder, garam masala, and amchur powder.
- Mix well and cook until the tomatoes are soft or for about 3 minutes.
- Now add the potato cubes, peas, and cilantro. Gently mix.
- Add rice and water and gently mix.
- Make sure to scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and make sure the vent is in the sealing position. Now pressure cook for 5 minutes in high pressure and release the pressure quickly after 3 minutes. (IP Formula – 5 mts manual at high pressure and QPR after 3 minutes)
- Carefully open the lid after releasing the pressure and allow the biryani to cool for 10 minutes. Then fluff it with a fork, or you can flip the rice on to a plate and let it cool and fluff too.
- Enjoy the wadi ki biryani with yogurt.
Recipe Notes:
- Make sure you cut the potatoes into big chunks. Instead of potatoes, you can use cauliflower as well.
- Adjust the salt and spices according to your preference. Check if the wadi has salt in it already if so adjust accordingly.
Wadi Ki Biryani | Instant Pot Punjabi Wadi Biryani
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 cloves
- 2 cardamom
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 -inch cinnamon
- 1/2 cup wadi crushed
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 tomatoes roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp amchur powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 cup peas
- 1/2 cup potato cubes
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 cup basmati rice washed and soaked for 20 minutes and drained
- 1 1/3 cup water
Instructions
Prep-Work:
- Wash and soak the basmati rice for 20 minutes and drain the water.
- Crush the wadis into small bite-sized pieces.
- Chop the required amount of potato cubes. I used two small potatoes.
- Cut the onion and tomato.
Steps:
- Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and when the display shows "HOT" add the oil.
- After 30 seconds, add the cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon, and the wadi.
- Fry for a minute.
- Then add the onion and ginger-garlic paste and cook for two minutes.
- Next, add the tomatoes, red chili powder, salt, turmeric powder, garam masala, and amchur powder.
- Mix well and cook until the tomatoes are soft or for about 3 minutes.
- Now add the potato cubes, peas, and cilantro. Gently mix.
- Add rice and water and gently mix. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and make sure the vent is in the sealing position. Now pressure cook for 5 minutes in high pressure and release the pressure quickly after 3 minutes. (IP Formula – 5 mts manual at high pressure and QPR after 3 minutes)
- Carefully open the lid after releasing the pressure and allow the biryani to cool for 10 minutes. Then fluff it with a fork, or you can flip the rice on to a plate and let it cool and fluff too.
- Enjoy the wadi ki biryani with yogurt.
Notes
- Make sure you cut the potatoes into big chunks. Instead of potatoes, you can use cauliflower as well.
- Adjust the salt and spices according to your preference. Check if the wadi has salt in it already if so adjust accordingly.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#99
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