Vegetable biryani, a vegetarian recipe from India

Name: Vegetable biryani
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 500 g basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes; 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves and 4 cardamom pods; 3 onions, sliced; 400 g diced vegetables (carrot, green bean, potato); 150 g plain plant yoghurt; 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste; 2 tsp garam masala; 1 tsp chilli powder; ½ tsp turmeric; 1 pinch saffron in 60 ml warm plant milk; 1 bunch mint and coriander; 100 ml neutral oil; Salt

Vegetable biryani

Local name: बिरयानी

This vegetable biryani recipe parboils basmati with whole spices, layers it over spiced vegetables and fried onions, then seals it in a pot to finish.

Published on 29 May 2026

VeganGluten-free#rice#basmati#vegetables#spices#dum

Method

Fry the onions in the oil for 20 minutes until deep brown. Lift them onto kitchen paper and keep 3 tbsp of the oil.
Toss the vegetables with the yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala, chilli, turmeric and salt. Marinate for 20 minutes.
Bring 3 litres of salted water to the boil with the whole spices. Add the drained rice and cook for 5 minutes. The grain stays firm at the core.
Drain the rice. Pour the reserved oil into a heavy pot and spread the marinated vegetables over the base.
Cover with the rice, scatter the fried onions, mint and coriander, then pour over the saffron milk.
Seal with a heavy lid or a rope of dough. Cook for 5 minutes on high heat, then 25 minutes on the lowest heat.
Rest off the heat for 10 minutes. Open and lift the rice from the bottom with a large spoon.

The rice cooks in two stages: it leaves the boiling water half done and finishes in the steam rising off the vegetables. That trapped steam is what dum means, a covered pot sealed shut. A tea towel wedged under the lid does the job of the dough rope.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know when to drain the rice from the boiling water?

Take a grain and crush it between two fingers: the outside should give while the core stays white and firm. That takes about five minutes, though it varies with the brand and the soaking time. Rice cooked right through at this stage turns pasty after twenty-five minutes in the covered pot.

Why fry the onions for so long?

The twenty minutes are what take them to the deep brown where the onion sugars have caramelised, one of the foundations of biryani flavour. Lifted out pale, they add almost nothing. Taken past brown, they turn bitter. Spread them on kitchen paper straight away and they crisp as they cool.

Which plant yoghurt works for the marinade?

An unsweetened plain one, as thick as you can find, soya or coconut based. Runny plant yoghurts thin the marinade, which then pools at the bottom of the pot instead of clinging to the vegetables. Check too for added sugar or vanilla flavouring, both common in supermarket plant yoghurts.

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Vegetable biryani

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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