A traditional Indian rice dish with fresh herbs, caramelised onions and spiced veggies.
The Best Vegan Biryani
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
- Chopping Board
- Chopping Knife
- Mortar and Pestle
- Large Pot
- Stirring utensil
- Measuring Utensils:
- Large Frypan
Ingredients
Rice layer
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 cup water
- 6 cardamom pods (whole)
- 3 cloves (whole)
- 1 pinch of salt
Vegetable Layer
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 small potatoes
- green beans (small handful)
- 1 carrot
- 3 florets of cauliflower
- 4 button mushrooms
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 inches ginger
- 3 large green chlli's
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 4 black peppercorns
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1/2 cup coconut yoghurt
Onion, cashew and herb layer
- 2 large onions
- 4 tbsp raw cashews
- 1/2 cup fresh coriander
Instructions
Cook The Rice
- Use your mortar and pestle to crush cardamon pods and cloves slightly.
- In your rice cooker bowl wash 1 cup of rice until the water runs clear. Add 1 cup of water and spices to the washed rice.
- Set your rice cooker to 'cook' and let it do its thing.
- Once your rice cooker switches to 'warm', it means the rice is ready, set aside for later.
Fry the vegetables and cashews
- Thinly slice one onion. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in the sliced onion and saute until very caramelized. Set aside.
- Next, add the cashews into the same pan and fry until golden. Set aside.
- Thinly slice another onion, chop green beans in half, dice potatoes into small pieces, slice carrot and break apart cauliflower into small chunks.
- Place another tablespoon of oil into the same pan and turn the heat up to medium-high heat. Firstly add in onion and saute until translucent. Next goes the carrots, potatoes and cauliflower, fry until tender and then chuck in the green beans and mushrooms until the mushrooms lose their water. Set aside.
- Crush the garlic, chilli and ginger into a paste.
- In your saucepan over low-medium heat add a tablespoon of oil along with the cumin seeds, bay leaves, kashmiri chilli powder, ground coriander, cinnamon stick and black peppercorns. Fry lighlty for about 10 seconds or until the spices become aromatic, then add in your ginger, chili, garlic paste. Fry the paste for roughly 2 minutes and then stir in the coconut yoghurt.
- Mix in the already cooked veggies and sprinkle garam masala over the top, stirring to combine.
Layer your Biryani
- Take a large pot and grease the bottom and sides well with some olive oil.
- Place half of your cooked rice into the bottom of the pot, breaking apart any lumps. Then lay half the caramelized onions and cashews along with half of the fresh coriander. Add in all of the curried vegetables. Lay the rest of the rice on top of the veggies along with the rest of the onions and cashews, topping with more fresh coriander.
- Put the lid on the pot and place on low heat for 40 minutes.
- Serve your biryani with more fresh coriander and a lemon wedge.