Malabar Biryani | Kerala Biryani | Thalassery Biryani (Vegetarian)
The Malabar Biryani showcases a gentle and finely seasoned vegetable biryani, prepared using an assortment of fresh vegetables, aromatic spices, herbs, onions, cashews, raisins, and coconut milk. It's ideally complemented by a side of raita and crispy papadams.
Ingredients
For The Rice
- 2 cups rice – soaked in 3 cups water, kaima rice or basmati rice
- 6 cups water – for cooking rice
- ¼ or ⅓ cup cashews – chopped
- 15 to 20 curry leaves
- ¼ cup raisins
- 1 cup onions – thinly sliced
- 5 to 6 tablespoons oil
- 12 to 15 saffron strands dissolved in 1.5 tablespoon water or yellow edible color or a pinch of turmeric dissolved in water can also be used.
- salt as required
For The Vegetable Gravy
- 2 cup chopped vegetables – I used small eggplants (brinjal), potato, carrots
- ½ cup green peas – fresh or frozen
- 1.5 cups onions – thinly sliced
- 2 inches cinnamon stick
- 7 to 8 cloves
- 4 to 5 green cardamoms
- 2 cups Coconut Milk – thick or canned thick coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
- 2 green chilies – chopped
- ½ cup water or as needed
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
- 1 teaspoon fennel powder (ground fennel)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ¼ or ½ teaspoon red chilli powder or cayenne pepper
- ¼ or ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- ½ or 1 tablespoon lemon juice or ¼ cup curd (yogurt)
- 1 tablespoon mint leaves – chopped
- 1 tablespoon coriander leaves (cilantro), chopped
- salt as required
Instructions
Preparation
- First, rinse the rice a few times in water. Soak the rice for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Later cook the rice in water until the rice grains are ¾ᵗʰ cooked. Drain the remaining starchy water and set the rice grains aside.
- Heat oil and add the sliced onions.
- Fry till the onions become light golden.
- Add the cashewnuts, raisins and curry leaves.
- Fry till the mixture turns golden on low heat. Don't burn.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and add the fried onions, cashews, raisins and curry leaves to the cooked rice.Do not mix. Simply make a layer of the fried onions mixture on top of the rice.
Making Vegetable Gravy
- In another pan, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of this oil in which the onions were fried. You can add more oil if required. Heat the oil on a low flame.You can also opt to use fresh oil or use ghee instead.
- Add the whole spices – cinnamon, cloves and green cardamoms.
- On a low heat fry till the oil becomes fragrant and the spices splutter.
- Now, add the 1.5 cups sliced onions and sauté on medium-low heat until light golden, stirring often.
- Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chilies. Sauté for a minute on low heat.
- Add the dry ground spice powders and sauté for a few seconds.
- Add the mixed chopped vegetables. Sauté for a minute.
- Add the coconut milk. Stir and then add water along with lemon juice.
- If using yogurt instead of lemon juice, then add at this step. Stir well.
- Add ½ cup of water. Cover the pan and let the vegetables cook on low to medium-low heat. The gravy will reduce a bit.
- Once the vegetables are tender and cooked, we can start layering the biryani.
Layering And Making Malabar Biryani
- Grease an oven proof bowl or pan with oil.
- Layer the vegetable gravy first. Then layer the rice.
- Spread the chopped mint and coriander leaves on top.
- Sprinkle the saffron water. Dot with some oil.
- Spread another layer of the vegetable gravy.
- Now spread the fourth layer of rice.
- Sprinkle the chopped mint, coriander leaves and saffron water.
- Dot with some oil again. Cover and seal tightly with an aluminium foil.
- Bake Kerala Biryani in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 25 to 30 minutes.
- You can also cook the layered biryani in a tightly covered pan on stove top for 25 to 30 minutes on low heat.
- Serve Malabar Biryani hot or warm with raita or kachumber.
Nutrition
Calories: 811kcalCarbohydrates: 99gProtein: 12gFat: 43gSaturated Fat: 24gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gSodium: 1287mgPotassium: 653mgFiber: 5gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 123IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 113mgIron: 6mg
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