One-Pot Vegetable Biryani
Published Nov. 17, 2021
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2cups basmati rice
- ¼cup ghee or any neutral oil
- 1dried bay leaf
- 2whole star anise (optional)
- 4whole cloves
- 4cardamom pods
- 4fresh Thai green chiles or green finger chiles, stems removed
- 1medium red onion, finely chopped
- 1tablespoon ginger paste or freshly grated ginger
- 1tablespoon garlic paste or freshly grated garlic
- ½teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2teaspoons Kashmiri red chile powder or other ground red chile
- 1plum tomato, finely chopped
- ½cup chopped cilantro leaves
- ½cup chopped mint leaves
- 1medium carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1small potato, peeled and finely diced
- 1cup small cauliflower florets
- ½cup frozen green peas, thawed
- ½cup cut green beans (fresh or frozen)
- ½cup full-fat Greek yogurt
- 2tablespoons fine sea salt
- 2½cups unsalted vegetable stock or water
- 1teaspoon garam masala
- 1tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus 3 lemon slices
- ½cup fresh pomegranate seeds (optional)
- ¼cup toasted or fried cashews, halved (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
454 calories; 14 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 73 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 886 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Rinse the rice, cover with cold water in a bowl and soak for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat ghee in a large pot over medium until it melts, 30 to 45 seconds. Add bay leaf, star anise, cloves, cardamom and green chiles and fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onion and fry, stirring often, until they start turning golden brown, about 5 minutes.
- Step 2
Add ginger and garlic and continue frying and stirring until the raw smell dissipates, about 1 minute. Add turmeric and red chile powder and stir for 30 seconds to toast (don’t let them burn). Add tomato and 2 tablespoons water. Add half of cilantro and mint. Continue stirring until the tomato starts to break down, about 5 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the carrot, potato, cauliflower, green peas, green beans, yogurt and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until the ingredients are incorporated.
- Step 4
Drain the rice and add to the pot, along with the lemon juice and garam masala. Stir until everything is evenly mixed. Add the vegetable stock and stir. Cover and cook on medium for 5 minutes.
- Step 5
Uncover and stir. Add the rest of the cilantro and mint and the lemon slices. Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes. Turn off the stove and let the pot stand for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice and garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds and cashews if you like.
Private Notes
Comments
Cardamom's flavor is entirely in its seeds: intact pods won't flavor anything. Smash the pods with your palm-heel and a heavy knife's flat blade. Sauteeing most spices makes your kitchen smell nice, but won't enhance the dish: flavor molecules disperse into the air rather than your food. Exceptions: onions, garlic, ginger (which mellow); umbellifers (cumin, coriander, anise, fennel, caraway, dill) and mustard seed. All these have starches that convert partly to sugars (or caramelize).
Made this and it was good. However, I much reduced the salt. Note, the recipe calls for two tblsps of salt, which comes to about 14,000 (yes, that's fourteen THOUSAND) mg of sodium. (Error maybe?) If there are 4 servings (which is more realistic than 6), that comes to about 3,500 mg of sodium per serving, which is truly excessive. Some of the other ingredients have additional small amounts of sodium, and this assumes that this is the only thing you're eating at this meal, which is unlikely.
Made this tonight, exactly as written other than using regular salted stock I had on hand, therefore eliminating sea salt and omitted the mint (didn't have any). Thankfully, had Thai chiles. I make Indian dishes fairly regularly, and don't always use ghee, but I think it made a difference. Not entirely sure of authenticity here, but in terms of flavor and complementary balance of spices, it is excellent!! Recipe easily serves six. I will be making this again and again..
Can the ghee be replaced with olive oil and the yogurt be left out to make the dish vegan?
Made as directed and it was outstanding! Will definitely make again. Cooking the spices in heated fat releases the spice oils into the fat, giving the dish a richer, deeper flavor. We are not salt-forward, thus 2 teaspoons used with a sprinkle of flaky salt over the top after serving. Used no-fat greek yogurt. This dish is a keeper!
Great flavor profile here, although agree with titters it is too salty. Others complained it wasn’t enough water for the amount of rice, but mine actually came out a bit mushy. Perhaps that’s in the soaking? I may skip the soaking next time, as I never soak basmati before cooking usually. My family loved this, and I will definitely make it again. I served it with Masala black-eyed peas, and it was a festival of warm, cozy flavors.
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