Simple Mushroom Biryani In 40 Minutes

Mushroom biryani in a small dish, there's mushrooms on top of the rice and peppers and chillies are visible. There's a small pot of star anise to the left and other condiments around the bowl, such as sauce, coconut shavings and chutney

Simple Mushroom Biryani In 40 Minutes

This mushroom biryani is a vegan take on the Indian classic that only takes 40 minutes to cook! It's a quicker version in comparison to traditional methods, but it's still packed full with flavour.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 40

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 411kcal

Author Jess & Dan

Ingredients

7.25 cups water
1.5 cups brown basmati rice
2 bay leaves
4 cardamom pods - crushed using the end of a knife so that they just pop open.
4 cloves
1 star anise
2 onions - peeled and thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic - peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon ginger - peeled and finely chopped
2 green chillies - chopped finely
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 cinnamon stick
500 g mushrooms - quartered
2 peppers - one orange and one green, chopped into very small cubes
1 cup peas
2 tablespoon vegan butter like Vitalite or Earth Balance (optional) and vegan butter for greasing

Garnish:

Fresh coriander
Desiccated coconut
Toasted almonds
Peanuts

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5.
Start by adding the rice, water and whole spices (bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick and star anise) to a large casserole pot and bringing it up to a gentle simmer on the stove.
7.25 cups water, 1.5 cups brown basmati rice, 2 bay leaves, 4 cloves, 1 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cardamom pods
Cook for 15 minutes, or 6 minutes if using white basmati rice (which cooks quicker than brown basmati rice). The rice will be al dente by the time the 15 minutes (or 6 minutes) is up. Drain and remove the whole spices once done.
While the rice cooks, grab a sauté pan and fry the onions for 15 minutes. Keep them moving, they should become translucent and slightly brown.
2 onions
Add the ginger, garlic, powdered spices (turmeric and garam masala) and fresh chillies to the onions and mix well.
4 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 2 green chillies
Pop in the mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes.
500 g mushrooms
Chuck the part-cooked rice into the pan and give it all a good stir so it’s all well combined.
1.5 cups brown basmati rice
Grease the stock pot or casserole dish with the vegan butter.
2 tablespoon vegan butter
Fill the dish with all of the Biryani mixture, and pour over ¼ of a cup of water and an optional 2 tablespoon of melted vegan butter.
2 tablespoon vegan butter
Pop the dish into the oven with the lid on for 10 minutes. This allows the rice to steam and cook fully, and take on more flavour.
Take the dish from the oven and add the peas and peppers. Stir it all gently, then put the lid back on but leave the dish out of the oven. Leave it to stand, lid on, for 10 minutes so the vegetables can steam from the remaining heat in the dish.
1 cup peas, 2 peppers
Season to taste, and serve with toasted almonds or peanuts, desiccated coconut, fresh coriander and biryani gravy.
Fresh coriander, Desiccated coconut, Toasted almonds, Peanuts

Notes

You can use biryani masala if you have it, but this can be difficult to get hold of!
7 cups seems like a lot of water, but it’s to allow the rice to infuse with the flavours of the whole spices.
Mushrooms - don’t wash them with water before cooking. Instead wipe them with a kitchen towel. Mushrooms are very porous so washing with water will mean that they’ll take on extra water. We want them to remain firm once cooked, and water doesn’t help this!
This recipe is mild, but you can use one less chilli to make it milder. You can also remove the seeds and membranes from the chilli to remove the heat from them.

Nutrition