Vegetable Biryani

Ingredients

• White rice

  Long-grain, regular, raw, enriched

  1 ½ cup or 278g

• Cardamom Pod

  Whole, raw - Whole Foods Market

  6 pod or 1g

• Cloves

  Spices, ground

  1 tsp or 2g

• Bay

  Castella

  1g

• Star Anise

  Morton & Bassett Spices

  1 tsp or 3g

• Salt

  Table

  1 ½ tsp or 9g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  2 ½ tbsp or 34g

• Onions

  Sweet, raw

  1 onion or 331g

• Raisins

  Golden seedless

  ¼ cup (not packed) or 36g

• Cashew nuts

  Nuts, raw

  ¼ cup or 34g

• Almonds

  Nuts, raw

  ¼ cup, sliced or 23g

• Saffron

  Spices

  ¼ tsp or 0.2g

• Reduced fat milk

  Fluid, 2% milkfat, with added vitamin a and vitamin d

  ¼ cup or 61g

• Peppercorn

  Whole peppercorns, black

  ¼ tsp or 0.5g

• Cinnamon

  Spices, ground

  2 tsp or 5g

• Potato

  Flesh and skin, raw

  2 Potato medium or 426g

• Cauliflower

  Raw

  ½ cup chopped, or 54g

• Carrots

  Raw

  1 medium or 61g

• Green beans

  Snap beans, raw

  ½ cup, pieces or 50g

• Peas

  Edible-podded, frozen, unprepared

  ½ cup or 72g

• Garlic

  Raw

  1 tbsp or 9g

• Ginger root

  Raw

  1 tbsp or 6g

• Plain yogurt

  Whole milk, 8 grams protein per 8 ounce

  ½ cup or 123g

• Water

  Plain, clean water

  ½ cup or 118g

• Cumin

  Spices, cumin seed

  1 tsp, ground or 3g

• Garam Masala

  Badia

  1 tsp or 24g

• Cayenne pepper

  Spices, red or cayenne

  ¼ tsp or 0.5g

• Fresh cilantro

  Coriander leaves, raw

  1 tbsp or 1g

• Mint

  Freshdirect

  1 tablespoon or 3g

Directions

1. Prep the rice
2. Soak the rice in room temperature water for 30 minutes.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil, and add the rice along with 3 cardamom pods, 3 cloves, bay leaf, star anise, and 1 tsp salt. Cook until the rice is 70% cooked- not fully cooked. It should still have some bite to it. Drain the rice and set aside.
4. Fry the onions & prep saffron milk
5. Add 1 tbsp oil to a skillet over medium heat. Dump in the onion, and toss to coat the slices in oil. Let them fry for 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until they begin to turn golden.
6. Add the raisins, cashews, and almonds to the skillet and cook for another 5 minutes or until the onions are well browned and the nuts are toasty.
7. Stir the saffron into the hot milk and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
8. Cook the veggie gravy
9. Heat 1.5 tbsp oil or ghee in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peppercorns, cinnamon stick, and the remaining cloves, cardamom, and bay leaf. Let the spices cook for 10-20 seconds.
10. Add the potatoes, cauliflower, carrot, green beans, and peas to the skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and ginger, stir, and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
11. Stir in the yogurt, water, 1/2 tsp salt, cumin, garam masala, and cayenne pepper. Bring the mixture to a bubble then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let everything cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are tender. About 10 minutes. Add more water as the veggies cook if the gravy reduces too much.
12. Assemble and cook the biryani
13. Spread half of the veggie gravy into a heavy bottomed pot with a well fitting lid, I used a dutch oven. Top the veggies with half the rice, then drizzle half the saffron milk over the rice. Top with half the onion mixture, and half of each the cilantro and mint. Repeat with the remaining veggie gravy, rice, saffron milk, and onion mixture.
14. Place a large, flat skillet (or pan) with 3 cups of hot water onto the stovetop element over low heat. Add the pot with your biryani into the skillet. Let the biryani cook for 25-30 minutes or until the rice is cooked and tender. This method will give you a nice, even, low heat to gently cook your biryani without burning the bottom.
15. Garnish with remaining cilantro and mint before digging in.
16. (source: https://cravinghomecooked.com/vegetable-biryani/)