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Lentil Biryani

 

Hmm, lets see, do I need to eat more legumes, hell yes! and there is a perfect book to help me do that in so many different ways. Kathy Hester’s The Great Vegan Bean Book has a lot of my favorite things, beans, lots of beans, plant-based with options for gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free or oil-free. 

There are beans for breakfast, meals and even dessert(chickpea cookies and black bean fudgesicles). There are usual vegan meals, burgers, dips and then other cuisines and fusion recipes to choose from Indian, Mexican, Jamaican, Asian, French, Moroccan, you name it. If you don’t win a copy at this giveaway, pick The Great Vegan Bean Book at amazon.

 Kathy explains all the possible standard beans, along with variations for specialty heirloom beans. She describes which beans are in each family and that can be used interchange-ably in a recipe.

 The book has nutrition information with each recipe.
It has Recipes to make your own staples like chorizo and chik-un patties.
Staples to keep food budget in check and also to avoid all the added preservatives.
Allergy friendly, gluten- and soy-free and no added oil and also an index for gluten and soy-free.

I made this Smoky White Bean dip from the book. I added a roasted Red bell pepper to it and spiced it up a bit more for my taste, and sent most of it and fresh veggies, packing with hubbs for his rafting trip. It was a definite hit with everyone. 



 I also used another batch of the dip to make sandwiches the next day. They will soon be posted in a separate post. I added some roasted Veggies and greens. 

You can check out many more tried and tested recipes from the book on Kathy’s blog tour, like these Pecan Chickpea Chocolate Chip cookies, butternut Squash Frijoles, These Chickpea Seitan Crispy patties & Coconut Pecan Blondies! 

Super Easy Lentil Biryani 
soy-free gluten-free oil-free

If you’ve had the longest day ever and still need to make dinner, this is the recipe for you. Throw everything into a pan or your rice cooker and dinner will be ready in no time!
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups (279 g) brown basmati rice
4 cups (950 ml) water, plus more if needed
½ cup (96 g) lentils
¼ cup (35 g) chopped cashews
¼ cup (35 g) raisins
¼ cup (33 g) minced dried apricots
2 teaspoons minced ginger
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks or Â½ teaspoon ground
3 black cardamom pods or Â½ teaspoon ground
4 whole cloves or ¼ teaspoon ground
8 whole black peppercorns or Â¼ teaspoon ground
10 coriander seeds or 1 teaspoon ground
½ teaspoon garam masala
¼ teaspoon salt

Yield: 4 servings
Total Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Cooking Time: 40 to 60 minutes
Per 1 ½-Cup (340 g) serving: 
377.0 calories; 5.0 g total fat; 0.5 g saturated fat; 10.0 g protein; 76.5 g carbohydrate; 7.5 g dietary fiber; 0 mg cholesterol.

Stove-Top- Directions:
Put all the ingredients except the salt into a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and
decrease the heat to low and cook until the rice and lentils are tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Check after 30 minutes
and add more water if needed.
Add the salt and adjust other seasonings if needed and remove the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and cardamom
pods before serving.

Rice Cooker Directions:
The two differences between cooking this on the stove top and in your rice cooker is that you will use 2 cups
(380 g) brown basmati rice (use the measuring cup that came with your rice cooker) and add water to fill line 2
in your rice cooker plus 1 cup (235 ml) water in a regular measuring cup.
Put all the ingredients into the rice cooker and cook on the brown rice setting if you have one.
When your rice cooker beeps, taste, add salt, and taste again. Adjust the other seasonings if needed and remove the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and cardamom pods before serving.
 
Recipe from The Great Vegan Bean Book. Republished with permission. 

 

About Richa

Hi, I'm Richa! I create flavorful plant based recipes that are inspired by my Indian upbringing, including many gluten-free, soy-free, and oil-free options.

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154 Comments

  1. Tania says:

    can this be made in the Instant Pot/ if so, how much water?

    Reply
    1. Helen Murray says:

      I would love to know this too, any idea on timings for an instant pot? Thanks

      Reply
        1. Helen says:

          Thanks!

          Reply
          1. Vegan Richa Support says:

            very welcome

  2. Tina M Kaufman says:

    If I don’t have lentils, can I substitute Chana deal in this recipe? If so, any adjustments needed?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Richa says:

      mung bean will work.for chana dal, soak it overnight before using

      Reply
  3. Desiree P says:

    I like black lentils w/coconut butter and pepper.

    Reply
  4. Jacky says:

    Black beans are definitely my favorite. I lived in France for a year and couldn’t find them anywhere and it was devastating! I love them in burrito bowls.

    Reply
  5. Heather Cornbleth says:

    Red lentils! There’s so much you can do with them. And they’re lower oxalate so my autistic son can eat them! (Along with chickpeas…)

    Reply