Biryani is a mixed rice dish made from robust Indian spices, basmati rice, meat, and vegetables and is comfort food for many. It is perfect for autumn and balances the six tastes. It includes using yogurt as a base of a thick spicy curry and then cooking the rice in the curry. Mint and Saffron are crucial flavor enhancers for this recipe.
Good for Vata Dosha, when using autumn spices
For Pitta, replace pumpkin seeds with cashews.
For Kapha, avoid cashews, add ground ginger or clove, and freshly ground black pepper.
Prep Time: 5 minutes, plus 30 minutes to soak
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Serves: 4 person
Ingredients
- 1 cup long-grain Basmati rice
- 2 T ghee
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 t cumin seeds
- 3 to 4 cloves
- 8 peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 black cardamom
- 2 green cardamom
- 1 piece of javitri
- ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- ¼ t turmeric
- ½ t paprika
- Few strands of saffron
- ½ cup caramelized onion
- ½ cup finely diced red onion
- ½ cup finely diced tomatoes
- 2 cups of bite-sized mix vegetables of your choice (cauliflower, carrots, peas, beans, bell peppers, etc)
Salt to taste - 1 T cashew pieces
Method
- Soak rice for 30 minutes, rinse and set aside.
- Melt 1 T of ghee over medium heat, add cumin and bay leaf and saute for a minute.
- Add the rice and let it cook for 2-3 minutes until the ghee is absorbed by the rice.
- Add water, cover, and bring it to a boil, till the rice is half-cooked. Set aside
- In a hard-bottom pan, add 1 T of ghee and stir in the rest of the whole spices. Saute till they are fragrant.
- Add chopped onions and tomatoes and saute till they get mushy.
- Add turmeric, paprika and the mix vegetables and saute the vegetables.
- Once the vegetables turn soft add yoghurt and Mix well.
- Add salt and cashews and allow it to simmer.
- Once the vegetables are half done and the gravy is thick enough, add coriander and mint leaves. Mix well
- Add the rice to the gravy and mix slightly, making sure not to break the rice grains
- In a small bowl add the saffron strands in 1 T hot water and let it seep. Add this Saffron water to the rice.
- Add Caramelized onions and cover the pot. Let it simmer on very low heat for 15 to 20 mins. You can place the pot on a tawa/pan over the flame to avoid burning.
- Open the pot and serve immediately.
Serving suggestions
Any seasonal vegetable as per choice can be added like spinach, chard, kale, celery, zucchini, broccoli, etc
Check out the Ayurvedic benefits of ingredients used in this recipe
Bay Leaf | Black Cardamom | Cumin Seed | Clove| Cinnamon | Coriander | Green Cardamom | Mint | Javitri | Peppercorn | Saffron | Turmeric
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