Meatless Monday – Vegetable Biryani (Indian Rice Dish)

My Noni (grandmother) used to make Biryani (rice dish) for New Year’s, and I thought this would be the perfect time of year to give it a go. I was so excited when my mom agreed to help me take my Noni’s recipe and make it vegetarian. This wasn’t a project I wanted to handle alone, I needed back up. 🙂 Most of the recipes you see me post here are definitely not “authentic”, and lean towards quick and easy – without skimping on flavor. This is definitely what I call weekend cooking. While it is tedious to prepare, it’s well worth it. I think the results were delicious (so did mom)! Take a trip to your local Indian grocery store, and have them help you with the ingredients. I always “mise en place” (measure out all my ingredients and have everything in it’s place) my ingredients, and it’s really a must with this recipe. Not to scare you off, this is not a “difficult/hard” recipe – just time consuming and has multiple steps. I love the exotic and aromatic combination of spices in the Korma (vegetables in a spiced creamy sauce), along with the sweetness of the raisins, and crunch of the cashews. It makes a beautiful rustic presentation, when served in an iron skillet. It’s a complete meal in itself, but pairs well with lentils and raita, or plain yogurt. If you like spicy food, feel free to add a half or whole Serrano chili when you saute the onions for the Korma curry. I discard the cinnamon sticks, cardamom, and cloves before eating/serving. Enjoy!

Ingredients
Greased medium roasting pan, dutch oven, casserole dish, or iron skillet.
2 cups basmati rice

Masala paste (for Korma curry):
2 tablespoons coriander powder
Dash red pepper/cayenne powder
1⁄2 teaspoon turmeric
4 tablespoons water

Korma Curry:
3⁄4 cup oil
2 cinnamon sticks
2 black cardamom
4 green cardamom
4 cloves
2 cups onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, grated with a microplane, or finely minced
1 tablespoon garlic, finely minced or pushed through a garlic press
11⁄2 cups tomatoes, finely chopped
3 cups fresh cauliflower (chopped into bite size pieces)
Salt to taste

Yogurt mixture:
1⁄2 cup plain whole fat yogurt, whisked
1⁄2 can coconut milk
1⁄2 tablespoon poppy seeds (ground if possible)

Oil topping:
4 tablespoons ghee
1⁄4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped fine
1⁄2 cup cilantro, finely chopped or ground

For the rice:
4 cups boiling water
2 cups frozen peas and carrots

Garnish:
4 tablespoons ghee (melted)
1 cup finely sliced onions
3 eggs, boiled and sliced in half
1⁄4 cup golden raisins
1⁄4 cup roasted and salted cashew nuts

Instructions
1. Rinse rice in a colander until water runs clear.
2. Place rice in a large bowl, and add water to cover. Soak rice for 15 minutes.Drain and set aside.

Masala paste (for Korma curry):
3. In a small bowl combine coriander powder, cayenne powder, and turmeric with 4 tablespoons of water, to
make a masala paste. Set aside.

Korma Curry:
4. Over medium heat, heat oil.
5. Add cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. Stir.
6. Add onions, stir.
7. Saute until onions are almost golden brown. (About 10 to 15 minutes)
8. Add ginger and garlic, stir. (ginger and garlic will stick to bottom of pan, use a metal spatula to scrape the bottom if you are not using a non stick pot)
9. Reduce heat to medium-low.
10. Add masala paste to onion mixture, stir and cook for 2 minutes.
11. Add tomatoes, stir.
12. Cook for roughly 10 minutes until oil separates from the onion mixture.
13. Add cauliflower, stir to coat with masala. Add salt to taste, and cook for 5 minutes.
14. Drain excess oil into a small bowl and set aside. (You should have roughly 4 tablespoons.)

Yogurt mixture:
16. In a small bowl combine yogurt, coconut milk and poppy seeds.
17. Add yogurt mixture to cauliflower and cook for 10 minutes.
18. Remove from heat, and set aside.
Oil topping:
19. Add ghee, lime juice, mint, and cilantro to excess oil, stir and set aside.
20. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

For the rice:
21. Boil 4 cups of water in a medium pot.
22. Add rice, and salt to taste.
23. Add frozen peas and carrots, stir.
24. Boil uncovered for 10 minutes, until about 90% of the water is absorbed and rice is tender. but not mushy.
25. Drain rice/peas and carrots. Set aside.

Garnish:
26. Heat ghee in a large skillet over medium heat.
27. Saute onions in ghee, until reddish brown. Remove and place on paper towels, to absorb excess oil. Set aside for garnish.

Putting all the components together:
28. Grease a medium roasting pan, dutch oven, casserole dish, or iron skillet.
29. Spoon 1⁄3 of the rice/pea & carrot mixture into your prepared dish.
30. Spoon 1⁄2 of the korma curry on top of your rice mixture.
31. Repeat with a layer of rice mixture, and remaining 1⁄2 of the korma curry.
32. Finish off top layer with remaining rice mixture.
33. Drizzle top with oil mixture.
34. Sprinkle raisins and cashews over top.
32. Cover with foil or lid.
35. Place dish in oven for 30 minutes.
36. Remove from oven.
37. Remove tin foil.
38. Garnish with sauteed onions, sliced boiled eggs, raisins, and cashews.
39. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

**Check out some of the items I used here by clicking on the Amazon link below. This link is an affiliate link, your purchase costs will be the same but The Masala Girl will automatically receive a small commission, thanks for your support. 🙂