½ cup uncooked basmati rice or 1 ½ cup cooked basmati rice
6 tbsp cooking oil
1 small potato peeled and cut into cubes
¼ cauliflower cut into small florets
8-10 french beans cut into 1 inch pieces
8-10 mushrooms cut into quarters
1 medium sized onion chopped
2 green chillies chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic finely grated or made into paste
2 inch ginger finely grated or made into paste
3 inch cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
5-6 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp of biyani masala or chana masala
½ cup of chopped mint leaves
¼ cup of chopped coriander leaves
2 1/2  tbsp of fresh yogurt
Salt to taste

Cooking rice:  

Wash rice thoroughly in tap water. Soak it for half an hour in water. Boil 4 cups of water in a deep pan. Now drain the extra water from the soaked rice and transfer it to the boiling water. Cook the rice for 7-8 minutes until soft. Pour the cooked rice in a colander to drain extra water. Transfer the cooked rice into a container for further use.

1. To make the biryani really quick you can cook the rice beforehand.
2. You can be very flexible with the type of vegetable to add and also with different types of masalas to add.
3. To make the rice more flavorful you can add dried bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon stick while cooking the rice.
4. You can also make chicken biryani by marinating chicken pieces in the biryani masala with lemon and salt for half an hour and then adding it to the gravy. Cover with a lid to cook and finally add rice.