Vegetable Biryani | Easy Veg Biryani
Vegetable biryani is a popular, flavorful, and aromatic Indian rice dish made with basmati rice, veggies, herbs, and biryani spices. This biryani recipe I have shared is one of the best simple and easy rice recipes for busy weeknight dinners, weekend family dinners, and holiday meals.
Servings: 4
Calories: 411kcal
Equipment
- Pot
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati rice
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 tablespoon Ghee (add oil for vegan biryani)
- 1 Bay leaf
- 3 Cardamom pods
- 1 inch Cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 5 Cashews, halved
- 3 Onions, medium size thinly sliced.
- 1 inch Ginger, chopped
- 5 Garlic cloves, chopped
- ½ cup Yogurt
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon Red chile powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Garam masala powder
- 2 to 3 Green chilies slit
- 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves chopped, more for garnish
- 2 tablespoon Mint leaves chopped, more for garnish
Vegetables used
- 5 Mushroom sliced
- 4 Babycorn sliced
- 1 Carrot chopped
- 10 Cauliflower florets
- 10 French beans chopped
- 1 Potato peeled and cubed
- 1 Capsicum cubed
- 1 Tomato chopped
Instructions
How to cook rice for biryani?
- Nicely wash the rice in water 2 to 3 times and soak it for atleast 30 minutes.1 cup Basmati rice
- You can start cooking the rice while you prep for the biryani. Bring 3 to 4 cups of water to boil in a pot with salt. Once the water starts boiling, add the rice, cook until it is 80 % cooked.
- Drain the rice and uncover the pot, or spread it on a plate to cool down and remain fluffy.
How to make simple and easy vegetable biryani?
- Heat oil and ghee in a pot. Add bay leaf, cardamom pods, cumin seeds, and cashews, and saute it for a minute.1 tablespoon Oil, 1 tablespoon Ghee, 1 Bay leaf, 3 Cardamom pods, 1 inch Cinnamon stick, 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds, 5 Cashews, halved
- Now add the onions, garlic, and ginger and continue to saute for another 5 minutes.3 Onions, medium size thinly sliced. , 1 inch Ginger, chopped, 5 Garlic cloves, chopped
- Add mushroom and baby corn and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.5 Mushroom, 4 Babycorn
- To this, add yogurt, turmeric, salt, chile powder, and garam masala powder and mix for 2 minutes.½ cup Yogurt, ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon Salt, 1 ½ teaspoon Red chile powder , 1 ½ teaspoon Garam masala powder
- Now add all the veggies, mix and cover, and cook for 5 minutes.1 Carrot, 10 Cauliflower florets, 10 French beans, 1 Potato, 1 Capsicum, 1 Tomato
- To this, add mint, coriander leaves, and green chilies and mix. Cover again and cook for 2 minutes.2 to 3 Green chilies, 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves, 2 tablespoon Mint leaves
- Add the par-cooked rice and spread it gently in the pot. Add fresh herbs on top and drizzle 1 tablespoon of ghee or butter for extra flavor. Cover and dum cook for 10 to 15 minutes on a low flame until the rice is completely cooked. Serve and enjoy.
Instant Pot Veg Biryani
- Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes and drain them.
- Turn on the SAUTE mode of your IP. Heat ghee and oil. Add bay leaf, cardamom seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon, and cashews, and saute for a minute.
- Add onion, garlic, and ginger, and saute for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add mushroom and baby corn and cook for 2 minutes.
- Press cancel and turn off the saute mode.
- Add yogurt, turmeric, salt, chile powder, garam masala powder, all the veggies, mint, coriander leaves, and green chilies, and mix. Scrape anything stuck to the bottom of your IP.
- Nicely spread vegetables at the bottom of the pot and nicely spread the rice over it. Do not mix.
- Add 1 ½ cups of water around the pot's sides so the rice is just immersed. Again do not mix.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro and mint, and drizzle 1 tablespoon of ghee if needed.
- Close the lid with a vent in the sealing position.
- Select the manual or Pressure cook at low for 6 minutes. After the instant pot beeps, quickly release any pressure to avoid overcooking.
- Open the pot, and fluff the rice. Serve and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- Always use basmati rice for the best results.
- Make sure you use fresh spices, garlic, ginger, and vegetables.
- You can increase or reduce the spice powders to adjust to your taste buds.
- Add ½ cup of paneer cubes or soya chunks to make it protein packed.
- There is no exact ratio of rice to vegetables while making biryani. If you like more rice, then reduce the amount of veggies, but if you want it to be nutritious or want to include biryani in your weight loss meal plan, then increase the number of veggies.
- I have not added any water while dum cooking as the water released from vegetables was sufficient for me. If you feel the masala is dry, before adding rice, make sure to splash some water.
- If the rice is uncooked after dum cooking for 15 minutes, splash some water or drizzle ghee and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Biryani is so aromatic and flavorful that it can be served on its own. But most restaurants serve it with raita, flavored yogurt or curds, pickle or mirchi ka salan, or biryani gravy and a glass of sweet lassi or fruit-based lassi.
Nutrition
Calories: 411kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 717mg | Potassium: 983mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 4264IU | Vitamin C: 89mg | Calcium: 132mg | Iron: 3mg