Vegan Biryani with Curry Chickpeas
Eating Yellow Rice is like eating Gold for Dinner.
It took me a forever to give you the recipe of this, but now it’s here! YES, I’m talking about my vegan biryani which I’ve showed you guys so many times through my insta stories, you have asked me tons of questions about and me never getting my sh*t together and posted the recipe. So today I’m going to share everything about my biryani with you all and I’m so excited! This dish is something we make very often in our home (which you probably could guess since you have seen it so much through my instagram) and now I’m going to show you all, how to make it!
What is Biryani?
Biryani is a dish and spice combination very popular in the Middle East, India and some parts of North Africa. Biryani is known for it’s yellow rice seasoned with the “biryani seasoning”. The seasoning can vary a bit depending on which country it comes from, but it usually consists of spices and herbs such as curry, cardamom, cilantro, wasabi and clove. Biryani is not “only” the yellow rice though, it’s a fully complete dish often with loads of various vegetables, nuts and dried fruits and - if not veg - chicken or meat on top. Since I’m not eating meat though I’m going to show you how to make a completely vegan biryani. This is a vegan dish we very often make in our home since it’s delicious, full of flavor and it’s one complete dish (meaning you can eat it as it is without any other side dishes if you don’t want to).
Making a biryani it might feel complicated, but it really isn’t. You just need to do many things at the same time in different steps so reading the recipe it might feel complicated, but as with any other recipe you get used to it. Nowadays, we do our biryani very quickly in our home!
So, what kind of seasoning do I need and where do I find them?
You need the biryani seasoning for this dish. Most people just buy it combined/done/complete as it is from the store and not do it by themselves. Most Indian or Middle East boutiques and markets have this spice. Just ask! Then you need curry powder which you find in basically any super market, and I also use rice seasoning. Rice seasoning can be excluded if you can’t find it in a Middle East boutique but it just gives it an “extra touch”.
If using basmati rice…
…it’s important to rinse off the rice thoroughly and many times with water until the water gets completely clear. We do this to help get rid of the starch that makes the rice sticky. We want our rice to be as light and “fluffy” as possible, so afterwards, place the rice in a bowl with water and let it soak for preferably a few hours or overnight. That helps a lot too.
THIS RECIPE IS:
Vegan
Middle East/Indian
Full of flavor
One complete dish - don’t need any other side dish
Great food prep food
Luxurious
Great food to serve when having guests coming over
Watch this slideshow to see how to assemble a biryani plate.
Vegan Biryani
INGREDIENTS:
2 dl (0.8 cups) of high quality basmati rice
4 dl (1.7 cups) water
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp biryani seasoning
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp rice powder, can be excluded
1.5 vegetable boullion cube
2 medium sized carrots
2 potatoes
4 big or 6 smaller white button mushrooms
1 dl (0.4 cups) frozen peas (and corn if you want to)
1 tsp biryani seasoning
Salt and black pepper
1/2 (á 200 g) chickpea package
Natural nuts, preferably cashews
Raisins
HOW TO MAKE:
Preferably a few hours before: rinse off the rice in cold water, several times, until the water is clear. Place the rice in the bowl again with water but let it soak preferably for a few hours.
Finely chop the onion. Heat a bigger saucepan with lid with the olive oil, and fry the onion until transparent. Add the biryani seasoning, curry and rice seasoning and stir it all together. Remove the sauce pan from the heat.
In a separately saucepan heat up the water with the bouillon cube. We do this separately to prevent lumps from the bullion cube to remain in the rice. Stir the bouillon water with a spoon until it dissolves in the water and it starts boiling.
When the bouillon water has boiled, place the first bigger sauce pan back onto the heat. Add the pre-rinse rice into the pan and then add the bouillon water on top. Stir it all with a spoon.
As soon as the water starts simmering, lower the heat (to a 2-3 out of 12), cover the pan with the lid and let it boil as you usually boil rice.
Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into quarters and the carrots into smaller pieces. Boil the potatoes and the carrots in a skillet until soft. You can also use leftover boiled carrots or potatoes from the day before or similar. That’s totally ok.
Heat a frying pan with some cooking oil. Rinse off your boiled chickpeas in cold water and then add them to the pan. Add some salt, a little bit of pepper and curry powder after taste. Fry them until they have gotten a nice crispier texture. Place the chickpeas on a plate on the side when done. We will use these later on.
Add some new oil to the pan. Slice the mushrooms and fry them in the pan together with the peas. Add some salt, pepper and if you want to, some extra biryani seasoning (you can have them natural too).
If your potatoes and carrots are soft and your pan is big enough, cut the potatoes and carrots into smaller cubes and add these to the pan too. Fry them all together until the potatoes have gotten a nice golden color. You might need to add more oil to the pan, and don’t forget the salt. It’s necessary.
Around this time the rice should probably be done. Lift the lid and stir it all around using a fork. A fork makes the rice a lot fluffier.
Thereafter the assemble of the biryani begins. In layers place the yellow rice, the chickpeas, the peas, the carrots, the mushrooms and the potatoes. Top with cashews and raisins.
Serve!