Description
A Persian and Indian fusion, Veggie Biryani
Ingredients
Units
Scale
“Chutney” (see Chutney directions below)
- 4 garlic heads
- 5 Serrano chili
- 2 medium sized gingers
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 3/4 cup shredded coconut
“Curry”
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 1 tsp. cumin (seeds or ground)
- 1 cup thinly sliced russet potatoes
- 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
- 1 cup frozen cut green beans
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- 1/4 tsp. ground saffron
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground cardamom
- 1 tsp. turmeric
- 2 tsp. salt
- 4 ripe tomatoes chopped
- 4 Tbsp cooking oil (divided)
Basmati Rice
- 3 cups of long-grain Basmati Rice
- 1 Tbsp salt
Instructions
- Prepare “Chutney”
- Peel ginger and garlic heads
- Wash and dry cilantro and serrano chili
- Add all “Chutney” ingredients together in a food processor and blend well.
- Prepare “Curry”
- In a large sauté pan on medium heat, add 2 Tbsp. cooking oil.
- Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes until golden.
- Add the cumin and stir.
- Add 3-5 Tbsp. of “Chutney” depending on preferred level of spice. Stir and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, stir and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the carrots, green beans, and green peas and the remaining spices. Stir and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes. Stir and cook until the tomatoes are very tender (approximately 15-20 minutes)
- Prepare Basmati Rice
- Wash and pick over the rice to remove small particles. To wash the rice, place the rice in a large bowl and cover with water. Move the rice with your hand to loosen particles. Pour off the water. Repeat the process 3-4 times until the rice is clean.
- Fill a large pot with water (3/4 full), add 1 Tbsp. salt, cover and bring to a boil.
- Add rice to boiling water, and cook on medium heat, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- Drain the rice.
- Layer “Curry” and Basmati Rice
- Add 2 Tbsp. cooking oil and dash of turmeric to the bottom of a large non-stick pot or Persian rice cooker.
- Add 1/2 of the Basmati rice to the pot/rice cooker.
- Add “Curry” as the second layer.
- Top off with the remaining 1/2 of the Basmati rice.
- Cover and cook 50 minutes in the rice cooker. (If cooking in a non-stick pot, cook for 50 minutes on medium/low heat).
- Before serving, mix the rice and curry in the pot until well blended.
- Noosh-e-jan! Enjoy!
Notes
To reduce the heat on this spicy rice dish, we make a traditional Salad Shirazi (chopped tomatoes, red onion, and cucumber) but without the added lemon juice or olive oil. Rather, we add Kite Hill plain yogurt and a dash of salt and pepper to make our own version of Indian “raita” (a traditional Indian condiment made of yogurt and vegetables).
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Iranian/Persian
Keywords: Vegan, Plant-Based, Persian, Iranian, Biryani, Indian, vegetarian