The short answer
This Biryani rice is a simple yet flavorful dish that pairs perfectly with any vegetables and proteins. It's quick, easy to make, and vegan. The secret to this dish lies in the Indian cooking technique called Tempering.
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Biryani rice is a classic Indian dish, often served with chicken or vegetables. Here, I’m sharing a simple version that can complement any vegetables or proteins.
The Key to a Good Biryani Rice
Like most Indian dishes, the flavor of biryani rice depends on the spices. To get the most out of the spices, we use tempering, a technique where spices are cooked in oil to release their essential oils. This step is crucial to this recipe! I recommend you to read this article to master this technique.
What ingredients to use?
There are as many ways of making biryani rice as there are cooks. In my version, I use classic whole spices commonly found in Indian cooking:
- Basmati Rice.
- The biryani base: onion, ginger, garlic and tomato.
- Whole spices: cardamom, cloves, cumin seeds, and bay leaf. Feel free to get creative and use what you have!
- Ground spices: turmeric powder and garam masala
- Mint leaves (or cilantro) for topping
Serve it with roasted or steamed vegetables and a protein of your choice. You can make a complete dish in just 20 minutes by pairing it with this pan-fried tofu recipe.
Or marinate your vegetables and transform this recipe into a Vegetable Biryani Rice.
The Recipe
Simple Biryani Recipe
A biryani recipe made it 30 minutes, super tasteful using just whole spices. A classic indian dish right in your kitchen!
Prep time
10
mins
Cooking Time
20
mins
Servings
2
people
Ingredients
- 200g basmati rice
- 2 black cardamom pods
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cloves
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- A few chopped mint leaves
- 1,5 tablespoons coconut oil
- water or vegetable broth
Instructions
- Soak 200g basmati rice in water for 20 minutes. Drain and rinse.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add 1 bay leaf, 2 black cardamom pods, 3 cloves, and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Chop an onion, add it and cookuntil soft and golden.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste and cook for 1 minute.
- Chop a tomato, add it and cook until softened and mushy.
- Add the soaked rice and combine everything evenly.
- Pour in water or vegetable broth to cover the rice, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Let the rice rest, covered, for 10 more minutes. Uncover and fluff the rice with a fork.
