What is Ulavacharu Biryani that's loved by Dulquer Salmaan and how to make it at home | The Times of India (2024)

It has become a trend these days for filmmakers to visit different cities and interact with the fans to promote their upcoming movies. Recently, actor & producer Dulquer Salmaan visited Vijaywada, the second largest city of Andhra Pradesh while promoting his upcoming movie ‘Sita Ramam’ and tried one of the traditional biryani which is known as Ulavacharu Biryani and shared a video on his Instagram while captioning it as, “Hi guys, trying the world-famous Ulavucharu biryani, it is so yum.” Well, this made us wonder about the taste and flavour of this biryani as to what is so special about it and here is all you need to know about it. (Images courtesy: Instagram/@dq_salmaan_fan & Instagram/@dqsalmaan)

It’s a classic yet traditional dish from Vijaywada and is made with Ulavalu (horse gram dal), which is known as ‘Kulthi ki Dal’ in Hindi, rice, and several vegetables. Horse gram dal is one of the important crops used in Southern India. It is majorly cultivated in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa. Surprisingly, this biryani is vegetarian as compared to most of the popular biryanis from the south and is prepared using a lot of vegetables. However, people do make variations of this biryani by adding chicken meat to it. Ulavacharu literally means ‘Horse Gram Soup’ and is enjoyed in winter the most as this dal is known to have warm properties in it. (Images courtesy: Instagram/@dq_salmaan_fan )

Ulavacharu is a soup made with horse gram dal, coriander, turmeric, tamarind water, and tomatoes. Once the soup is made, it is then used with South Indian dishes such as Idli, Dosa, and rice. Ulavacharu is one such variation of this soup. (Image courtesy: Instagram/@natureontheplate)

Horse gram is a popular winter food that’s rich in dietary fibre and is known to reduce cholesterol and obesity. This popular ingredient is also known to be rich in protein with low fat, which makes it an ideal ingredient for those looking to lose some weight. Ulavalu is also known to be antioxidant-rich and can help prevent the damage caused to cells by free radicals. (Image courtesy: Canva)

1/2 cup horse gram, 4 cups water, 1 cup biryani rice, 4 mint leaves, 1 bay leaf, salt to taste, 2 1/2 tbsp oil, 1 onion, 2 green cardamoms, 2 cloves, 1 star anise, 1 mace, 1/2 tsp Shahi Jeera, 1/4 tsp black stone flower powder, 2-inch stick cinnamon, 2 green chillies, 1 bay leaf, 1 stem of curry leaves, 1/2 cup carrot, 1/2 cup peas, 1/2 tsp tamarind paste, 1 cup ulava charu, 1/2 cup cooked horse gram dal, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ghee, 1/2 cup chopped coriander and mint leaves. (Images courtesy: Canva)

Wash the horse gram at least twice and let it soak for a minimum of 8 hours in 2 cups of water. After 8 hours, do not discard the water used for soaking. Pressure cook the soaked horse gram along with the water used for soaking for three whistles and after three whistles, reduce the heat to low and let it cook over low flame for 30 minutes. Ignore the whistles during that time. Allow the pressure to release and reserve 1 cup of the cooked horse gram water and ⅓ cup of cooked horse gram.

Wash the basmati rice and soak it in water for about 20 to 30 minutes and drain the water. Meanwhile, add 2 cups of water to a pan or pot. Add the mint leaves, bay leaf, salt, and oil to the water and bring it to a boil. When the water boils, add the soaked and drained basmati rice. Let it cook over medium flame until it is 80% done. We do not want the rice to cook thoroughly. This ensures non-sticky grainy rice after the dum process.

Now, chop the onion, mint, cilantro, and carrot. Slit the green chilli into two and then heat a skillet or pan and add oil. When the oil is hot, add the whole spices. Fry the spices for 30 seconds over medium flame and then add the chopped onion, curry leaves and slit green chillies. Cook until the onion turns translucent. Then add the dry spice powders – coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, black stone flower powder, garam masala, and turmeric powder. Mix them nicely and add the chopped carrots, peas and salt. At this stage, add the horse gram water / Ulava Charu and tamarind paste. Mix all the ingredients and let this mixture cook until 80 per cent of the water is evaporated and until carrot and peas are tender. Finally, add the ⅓ cup of cooked horse gram and let it cook for just 2 to 3 minutes. Then turn the heat off.

For the layering, spread some ghee in the pan or pot in which you are going to set the dum. First spread the cooked rice evenly. Then sprinkle some chopped mint and cilantro leaves. Then spread the biryani masala evenly like below. Follow the same process and layer the biryani with the rest of the masala, rice and mint-cilantro mix. Cover this biryani tightly and cook this over low flame for 10 minutes. And that’s it. Ulavacharu biryani is ready. Let it cool down for 10 minutes and then using a fork, slowly mix the biryani. Serve it hot with raita or any of your favourite gravies. (Image courtesy: Instagram/@iamsanmenon)