I know I have been very lazy and not updated my blog for a while so here it is – a fantastic vegetarian biryani - easy, delicious and very fattening :- ). My whole house smells like a wee Indian takeaway!
Apparently, the proper Mugal style Biryani takes hours to cook – so this is my take on it – as I have a life and and I would never spend more than 45 minutes in a kitchen – which included my preparation time and cleaning!
Ingredients
- 275g basmati rice
- 40g ghee ( clarifies butter – easily available in major supermarkets in the World food section)
- 1 large onion, finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- Thumb-size piece of fresh ginger, grated
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp mild chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 500g mixed vegetables, prepared and cut into small pieces (I used cauliflower, red pepper, green beans and mushrooms)
- 6 cardamom pods, cracked
- 6 cloves
- Small handful fresh coriander, to garnish
Method
- Rinse and soak the rice in cold water for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the ghee in a wide, deep flameproof casserole with a tight-fitting lid over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, fresh ginger and ground spices and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in the vegetables and 150ml water, cover and cook gently for 3-4 minutes. Season with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/fan130°C/gas 2. Drain the rice. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the rice and whole spices and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and gently fold into the onion and vegetable mixture in the casserole – don’t over mix as you want some rice to stay white and some to be streaked with turmeric.
- Place the casserole back over a high heat, cover and cook for 1 minute to build up steam. Transfer to the oven for 15 minutes, until the rice and vegetables are tender.
- Divide the biryani between bowls, garnish with fresh coriander and serve with some mango chutney and poppadoms.
