One-Pot Vegetable Biryani

By Zainab Shah

Published November 16, 2021

  • Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
4(1,549)
Comments
Read comments

Vegetable biryani may be the underdog of biryanis since it's often overshadowed by meatier varieties. But like other formidable yet unsung dishes, this one’s adaptability helps it hold its own. Recipes vary across South Asia: Hyderabadi versions are known for their fieriness, while milder, nuttier variations dominate northern regions. This one falls somewhere in the middle. Use any vegetables you have, such as nutty cauliflower, sweet peas and crunchy carrots. Nuts and fresh or dried fruits add a confetti of flavors and textures. This recipe skips the layering typically called for in favor of conveniently stirring everything together. Luckily, using fewer dishes doesn’t compromise flavor.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • 2 cups basmati rice

  • ¼ cup ghee or any neutral oil

  • 1 dried bay leaf

  • 2 whole star anise (optional)

  • 4 whole cloves

  • 4 cardamom pods

  • 4 fresh Thai green chiles or green finger chiles, stems removed

  • 1 medium red onion, finely chopped

  • 1 tablespoon ginger paste or freshly grated ginger

  • 1 tablespoon garlic paste or freshly grated garlic

  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder

  • 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chile powder or other ground red chile

  • 1 plum tomato, finely chopped

  • ½ cup chopped cilantro leaves

  • ½ cup chopped mint leaves

  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

  • 1 small potato, peeled and finely diced

  • 1 cup small cauliflower florets

  • ½ cup frozen green peas, thawed

  • ½ cup cut green beans (fresh or frozen)

  • ½ cup full-fat Greek yogurt

  • 2 tablespoons fine sea salt

  • 2 ½ cups unsalted vegetable stock or water

  • 1 teaspoon garam masala

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus 3 lemon slices

  • ½ cup fresh pomegranate seeds (optional)

  • ¼ cup toasted or fried cashews, halved (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

73 grams carbs; 3 milligrams cholesterol; 454 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 14 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 886 milligrams sodium; 11 grams protein; 9 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Rinse the rice, cover with cold water in a bowl and soak for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat ghee in a large pot over medium until it melts, 30 to 45 seconds. Add bay leaf, star anise, cloves, cardamom and green chiles and fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onion and fry, stirring often, until they start turning golden brown, about 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add ginger and garlic and continue frying and stirring until the raw smell dissipates, about 1 minute. Add turmeric and red chile powder and stir for 30 seconds to toast (don’t let them burn). Add tomato and 2 tablespoons water. Add half of cilantro and mint. Continue stirring until the tomato starts to break down, about 5 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Add the carrot, potato, cauliflower, green peas, green beans, yogurt and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until the ingredients are incorporated.

  4. Step 4

    Drain the rice and add to the pot, along with the lemon juice and garam masala. Stir until everything is evenly mixed. Add the vegetable stock and stir. Cover and cook on medium for 5 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Uncover and stir. Add the rest of the cilantro and mint and the lemon slices. Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes. Turn off the stove and let the pot stand for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice and garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds and cashews if you like.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,549 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Prakash Nadkarni

Cardamom's flavor is entirely in its seeds: intact pods won't flavor anything. Smash the pods with your palm-heel and a heavy knife's flat blade. Sauteeing most spices makes your kitchen smell nice, but won't enhance the dish: flavor molecules disperse into the air rather than your food. Exceptions: onions, garlic, ginger (which mellow); umbellifers (cumin, coriander, anise, fennel, caraway, dill) and mustard seed. All these have starches that convert partly to sugars (or caramelize).

Richard

Made this and it was good. However, I much reduced the salt. Note, the recipe calls for two tblsps of salt, which comes to about 14,000 (yes, that's fourteen THOUSAND) mg of sodium. (Error maybe?) If there are 4 servings (which is more realistic than 6), that comes to about 3,500 mg of sodium per serving, which is truly excessive. Some of the other ingredients have additional small amounts of sodium, and this assumes that this is the only thing you're eating at this meal, which is unlikely.

Baloo

Made this tonight, exactly as written other than using regular salted stock I had on hand, therefore eliminating sea salt and omitted the mint (didn't have any). Thankfully, had Thai chiles. I make Indian dishes fairly regularly, and don't always use ghee, but I think it made a difference. Not entirely sure of authenticity here, but in terms of flavor and complementary balance of spices, it is excellent!! Recipe easily serves six. I will be making this again and again..

poppygin

Tried this and will definitely be making again. But it took longer than stated and I only used about a third of the salt for myself. A few things I did that might help others: 1) Prepped/staged all ingredients to make it easy to add in sequence. Those initial steps move fast. 2) Crushed whole spices and sauteed, then strained them out & put them in a white tea satchet so I could easily remove them at end. 3) Seeded chiles (or should I have kept the seeds??) 4) Used 1/3 of the stated salt

Jessica

this was very disappointing - bland and boring despite all the wonderful seasonings. If I made it again, I would cut the amount of rice in half and see if that works better.

Ruth Updegraff

What would change if I made it with brown basmati?

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.