Vegetable Biryani

Ingredients

For the Chutney

  • 1 cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
  • 1 tbsp grated fresh coconut
  • 1 green chilli
  • 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • ½” pc cinnamon
  • 2 cloves

For the Rice

  • 1 cup brown or red rice, soaked for 8-10 hours
  • 1 tsp whole spices (cinnamon, cloves, black pepper)
  • 1 bay leaf (tej patha)
  • ½ tsp unrefined salt
  • 2 cups chopped mixed vegetables
  • 200 g steamed and pureed tomato
  • ¼ fresh coconut, grated

For Tempering

  • 1 tsp cumin (jeera) seeds
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder

Method

For the Chutney

In a blender, grind all the chutney ingredients together to make a paste.

For the Rice

Wash and cook the rice with whole spices and salt. Steam the vegetables.

Grind the tomatoes and grated coconut together, to make a paste. Once the rice is cooked, mix in the tomato-coconut paste. In a pan, sauté some cumin seeds. Add red chilli powder, green chutney and the steamed vegetables and mix well. In a bowl, layer the rice and vegetables in alternate layers and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for 10 minutes. If you wish, you may add a sprinkling of ready biryani masala (although it is best without), to add flavour.

Serves 5-6