Vegetarian Biryani
Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian Recipes Rice Indian
The stars of this biryani are the spices. That's the beauty of Indian cuisine: there's no need for meat when we can build so many layers of flavor from spices. And so I maintain my opinion: if I were vegetarian, Indian recipes would dominate my menu.
Ingredients
Indian Rice
1 cup basmati rice (250g)
1 1/4 cups water
1 small piece cinnamon stick (about 1cm)
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 cardamom pods crushed with the flat of a knife
1 clove
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (or 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Chickpea Curry
1 medium onion
2 canned tomatoes
4 smaller garlic cloves
1 teaspoon grated ginger paste
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala (I used Fuchs brand)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1 can of chickpeas (250g)
100g Greek yogurt
1 small bunch of parsley
10 large mint leaves
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons butter
salt
Turmeric Onion
1 medium white onion
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons oil
salt
Servings: 4
How to prepare vegetarian biryani
- Wash the rice in several changes of water until the water runs clear. Then cover with cold water and let it soak for 30 minutes.
- Put the water to boil with the salt, cardamom, cloves, cumin, pepper, cinnamon and turmeric. When the water boils, add the well-drained rice. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover with a lid and let it cook for 5 minutes.
- Lift the lid, place a towel over the pot (you'll see there's no more water on the rice), then put the lid back on. Turn off the heat and let the rice steam for 15 minutes. During this time, don't lift the lid!
- After this time, lift the lid and remove the spices. Gently fluff the rice with a fork and adjust salt to taste.
- While the rice is cooking, prepare the curry: heat the oil and add the finely chopped onion. Sauté the onion over very low heat until very soft (about 10 minutes). Add the crushed garlic and grated ginger and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add the butter and stir until melted.
- Add the tomatoes broken up with a fork and sauté for another 3 minutes.
- Add the spices (from coriander to chili) and mix well.
- Add the drained chickpeas and 100g water. Add salt as well. Bring to a boil, put the lid on and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Mix the yogurt with the chopped herbs (set aside 1 tablespoon for the end) in a large bowl. Pour the chickpea curry over the yogurt after it has settled from boiling. Mix and adjust salt to taste.
- In a wide pot (about 26cm; I used a tagine), melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. Make a layer of 1/3 of the rice over the butter. Then add 1/3 of the curry (about 3-4 tablespoons). Repeat these layers 2 more times. The last layer will be curry.
- Place the pot on the heat and cook until you hear it sizzling. Reduce heat to low, put the lid on and leave for 5 minutes. A crispy rice crust will form on the bottom.
- Cut the onion into scales or thin slices and sprinkle with a little salt. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and turmeric and mix well. Let it marinate for 10 minutes. Add the oil and the herbs reserved at step 10.
- Serve the biryani with the marinated onion on top.
