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We were very tired on Sunday after a hectic weekend full of steam cleaning the house. some shopping and a TaiChi session. And I wasnt in the mood to cook, but I still wanted to eat something good and tasty. So Me and hubby decided on Vegetable Biryani. I gave him some initial instructions for cooking rice and getting the veggies and everything ready. Then we made some Delicious Biryani and ate it even when it was too hot!.. right off the stove. So of course, no pictures. I will take some next time!
Vegetable Biryani! (Stirfried Vegetables with Rice Indian style)
Vegetable Biryani is a vegan main dish that is packed full of flavor and veggie goodness.
Ingredients
Rice:
- 1.5 cups basmati rice
- 2.5 cups water
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon oil
Veggies:
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 cups mixed vegetables, I used frozen ones as I was too lazy .. so carrots, corn, peas, bell pepper, green beans etc
- 1 inch ginger chopped
- 1 Serrano pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 4-5 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 dried red chili
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- pinch of asafetida, hing
- 2 teaspoons saffron water, pinch of saffron soaked in warm water
- 1 cup cilantro/coriander leaves chopped
- 1 cup mint leaves chopped
- 2-4 teaspoons lemon juice
- fried cashews and onions for garnish
Instructions
- Wash rice and soak for 10 minutes.
- The rice can be cooked in a pressure cooker or a covered container. In the cooker pan, add oil and let it heat up on medium heat.
- Add in cumin seeds and wait for 2-3 minutes or until they start browning and giving out an aroma.
- Add in the chopped garlic and mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the rice and water and salt and give the mixture one slight whirl and keep the rice for cooking. 1 whistle in pressure cooker and 10-15 minutes on covered container. The rice should be cooked to almost cooked, but not fully cooked. Keep rice aside.
- In a large pan, heat oil and Add in the chopped onions and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Add in the Serrano peppers and red chili and mix well.
- Add in the cumin and coriander powder, turmeric and asafetida and mix well.
- Add in the rest of the spices(bay leaves, cardamom,. cinnamon, cloves) and mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add in the thawed vegetables, salt and ginger and mix well.
- Cook for 5 minutes or until veggies are half cooked.
- Reduce heat to low and spread out the veggies to cover the bottom evenly. If you have a slim pan with more depth, you can keep some veggies to add another layer.
- Top the veggies with half of the coriander and mint leaves.
- Top this off with rice and sprinkle the saffron water on the rice.
- Sprinkle some lemon juice on it as well.
- Top the rice with the remaining coriander and mint leaves.
- You can add addition veggies and rice layers. I made only one layer.
- Cover the container and cook on low for 10-15 minutes.
- Garnish with 1/2 cup fried cashews and 1/2 cup fried onions.
- Serve hot with yogurt or raita!
Notes
Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Calories: 510kcal, Carbohydrates: 105g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 5g, Sodium: 648mg, Potassium: 674mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 8455IU, Vitamin C: 30.9mg, Calcium: 193mg, Iron: 5.4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!
This was delicious!
I love the herbs in this recipe – it reminded me of when I lived with Iranians and ate Iranian food every day. Those folks use herbs in such amazing ways!
I got a bit confused with the spices in this recipe (and I don’t like biting into or picking out whole cloves) so I dry roasted coriander seeds, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, cardamom and clove and ground them and added the powder. I knew I wouldn’t bother to separately fry cashews and onions to garnish it so I put some cashews in with the veggies it was still really awesomely yummy. Poppy seed is so good in biryani…
yeah.. we ate all of it as soon as it got done.. so couldnt take pictures. 🙂
mint leaves always give such a unique flavour to biryanis..but somehow i always forget to add them..wish you had put some pictures.. 🙂