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
- ½ cup wadi, crushed
- One onion, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- Two tomatoes, roughly chopped
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp amchur powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ cup peas
- ½ cup potato cubes
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 1 cup basmati rice, washed and soaked for 20 minutes and drained
- 1 ⅓ 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.
📖 Recipe
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
- ½ cup wadi crushed
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 tomatoes roughly chopped
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp amchur powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ cup peas
- ½ cup potato cubes
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 1 cup basmati rice washed and soaked for 20 minutes and drained
- 1 ⅓ 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.
Never made Wadi ki Biryani though we love wadi aloo curry with rice. It’s been quite a time since I made these too.. This looks delcious and will try whenever we get wadis here in store.
Thanks :-)
This biryani sounds so delicious Srividhya, even I was waiting to make this for my W but unfortunately, it went bad. Yes, we had made wadi as part of our ICC, that almost made me want to make it again for this but then went with another recipe for W.
I can understand. When it comes to A-Z posts, we need to play with names.
I once made moong dal wadi at home and loved it so much. But then I completely forgot about it. This biryani with wadi, aloo and peas looks fantastic. This would make an amazing meal.
Oh wow, you made the wadi from scratch? That’s amazing.
Interesting read a definitely a yummy looking biryani.mwont the Wadi gets soggy went added to the instant pot, just curious to know..
No Sharmila. Wadi is quite hard and absorbs all the juice and becomes soft but not soggy.
Wadi biryani looks too good Vidhya. Instant pot makes life so easy right. I will have to get one too.
Yeah definitely Sushma. You will love it.
I wanted to make this Biryani but could not souce pujabi wadi. The rice looks very flavourful and a complete meal with the wadi.
Thanks, Renu.
Wow! That sounds like such a yummy rice dish, Srividhya. I love the spicy wadis but rarely use them at home. This recipe sounds like I might like it.
Please do try Harini and you can also use it in Pulusu.
A classic dish well presented. That whole platter looks tempting. Amritsari wadis add very delicious flavor to this pulao.
Thanks, Suma
This one is one of my favourite foods . I love wadi and Chawal combo . Though this wadi is a adapted taste , I am surprised how little Vandu ate it .
The wadi is available in three categories – mild , medium and spicy , your Biryani depends on the category used .
Yes even I use Aaloo and mattar for this Biryani , though my recipe is quite different than this one .
Yes, I was surprised too but coming to think about it, wadi is more like our karuvadagam which he loves. So he was able to relish this as well.