Recipe Description
Welcome to the ‘#HealthyEating’ series! #HealhyEating is launched to encourage everyone to love themselves and live a healthier life. In this quarter, we are sharing vegetarian Rice recipes, BRIYANI. This one-pot rice dish, the origins of which are open to debate, always evokes a wonderful feeling in my heart.
Want more vegetarian or vegan recipes? Check out the ‘#HealthyEating’ recipe folder.
The recipe is first published on TheStar at https://www.thestar.com.my/food/food-news/2020/10/31/deepavali-spirit-gets-a-touch-of-halloween-through-this-spice-filled-briyani
Recipe Ingredient
- 2 cups basmati rice, washed and drained
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 pandan leaf, knotted
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 star anise
- 10 cardamom
- 6 cloves
- 10 shallots, sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 green chillies, deseeded and chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (Note: Puree 2-inch ginger with a few cloves of garlic and a splash of water. This can be kept in the freezer)
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp briyani powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup water
- 400g pumpkin, skinned and cubed
- To temper/fry rice:
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 pandan leaf
- 1 tsp briyani powder
- 4 cups water
- For garnish:
- 1 sprig fresh coriander
- ½ cup toasted almond flakes
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
- Wash rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. Leave to soak in clean water for about 30 minutes.
- In a pot or frying pan, heat the oil and ghee on medium flame. Add cinnamon, bay leaves, star anise, cardamom, cloves and pandan leaf, and saute until you hear crackling sounds.
- Then saute the shallots and garlic until fragrant and translucent.
- Next, add chillies, followed by tomatoes. Fry until tomatoes are caramelised.Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for about seven minutes until oil forms.
- Pour in all the spice powders, including salt and pepper. Add water and mix until everything is well incorporated.
- Add pumpkin cubes into the masala. Mix everything together and leave to cook for 10 minutes under a closed lid.
- Test with a fork if the pumpkin is cooked. It should be soft but not mushy. Set aside in a bowl.
- In a big pot, heat the oil and ghee. Add the pandan leaf, followed by all the aromatics. Add the briyani powder and saute until fragrant.
- Drain the soaked rice and pour it into the pot. Coat the rice evenly and fry for a few minutes with the aromatics.
- Pour four cups of water and stir. Cover the pot tightly and leave to cook for 10 minutes on medium low heat.
- There should be a little water left with the rice three quarters cooked through. Drain out the excess spiced water in a bowl through a colander. Reserve the water.
- In the same pot, assemble the rice and pumpkin masala layer by layer starting with the rice. You can add more of the spiced water for moisture.
- Leave to steam under the lid for about 10 minutes.
- Gently fluff the rice using a wooden spatula or fork to ensure grains are evenly coated with the masala. Garnish with coriander, almond flakes and lemon zest.
