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Vegetable Biryani

Delicious and decadent, this biryani is made with loads of fresh vegetables, nuts and raisins.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time1 hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, Pakistani
Keyword: biryani, nuts, raisins, rice, vegetables
Servings: 6
Author: Madhavi

Ingredients

  • 2 cups basmati rice long grain
  • 5 tbsp ghee or oil
  • 2 cups plain thick yogurt
  • 2 medium onions thinly sliced
  • 2 medium potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 cup cauliflower chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1 cup french beans sliced into bite size pieces
  • 1 cup carrots chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup cashew nuts roughly broken
  • 1/4 cup almonds sliced or roughly broken

Fresh Herbs and Spices

  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro washed and chopped
  • 1 bunch fresh mint washed and chopped
  • 1 tsp ginger freshly grated
  • 1.5 tsp garlic freshly crushed

Whole Spices

  • 2 inch piece of cinnamon
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 5 cloves whole
  • 5 green cardamoms whole
  • 2 black cardamoms whole

Dried Spice Powders

  • 2 tsp salt to taste
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp red chili
  • 2 tsp garam masala or biryani masala
  • 1 tsp saffron

Instructions

Part 1

  • Thinly slice the onions and fry them in a large pot with 2-3 Tbsp of oil.
    Chop the vegetables into bite sized pieces and set aside.
    Thinly slice the potatoes and fry them till cooked and crisp in the same oil after the onions.
    Fry the nuts and raisins, set aside.

Part 2

  • Add 1 Tbsp oil if needed.
    Add cumin seeds and whole spices (bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, black & green cardamoms) and let them sputter for 30 secs.
    Add the chopped vegetables, chopped cilantro and mint, half the fried onions, nuts, raisins, and potatoes one after another.
    Add the dry spices (turmeric, red chili, coriander, cumin powders, garam or biryani masala) and sauté them for 30 secs.
    Add the plain yogurt and salt, give it a quick stir and cook covered till the veggies are soft and cooked.

Part 3-Rice

  • Cook the rice in plenty of water in another pan, and drain the water when rice is almost cooked. It should be a tad undercooked.
    Layer the cooked rice on top of the cooked vegetables.

Finishing

  • Prepare the saffron mix by warming the saffron and milk in a microwave.
    Spoon the saffron mix over the rice, add dollops of ghee, remaining fried onions potatoes, nuts and raisins.
    Turn heat to low, cover and cook for 10 mins.
    Turn off the heat.
  • Serve warm with a raita.