Subzi Biryani (Vegetable Biryani)

This biryani looks complicated, but it's not actually too bad to put together. It's only slightly more complicated than making a curry and cooking a pot of rice to go with it. You just stir a few extras into the rice and then layer everything into a casserole dish and finish cooking everything in the oven. I served it with Kaaju Curry, a spinach raita (Keerai Pachadi), and a stack of Papads.

Subzi Biryani

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Rice

• 1 c. long-grain brown rice
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 tsp. saffron threads
• 1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies

Vegetable Curry

• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. black cumin seeds
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 (Indian) bay leaves
• 2 (3") cinnamon sticks
• 1 red onion, halved and sliced
• 6-8 cloves of garlic, julienned
• 1 c. cauliflower florets
• 1 c. fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 2.5cm (1") pieces
• 2-3 small carrots, cut into 1cm cubes
• 2 tsp. Punjabi garam masala
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. water
• 1/2 c. fresh or frozen green peas

Directions

Rice

1. Thoroughly rinse the rice and then pour boiling water over it to cover. Let it soak in the hot water while you prepare the curry.
2. Once the curry has been removed from the heat, drain the rice.
3. Fill a pot halfway with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
4. Add drained rice and salt.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring very occasionally for 10 minutes. Rice will not quite be fully cooked.
6. Meanwhile, warm the cream slightly and stir in the saffron. Set aside to steep for at least 5 minutes.
7. Once the rice has simmered for 10 minutes, drain it and divide into two equal portions.
8. Pour the saffron-laced cream into one portion and sprinkle the ground chilies over the other. Keeping both portions of rice separate, stir each to fully incorporate the colourful additions.

Vegetable Curry

1. Heat ghee over medium-high heat.
2. Add cumin, black cumin, cardamom pods, cloves, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks and sizzle for about a minute.
3. Add onion and garlic and stir-fry until they turn light brown (~8 minutes).
4. Add cauliflower, green beans, and carrots and cook, stirring frequently for another minute or two.
5. Add garam masala and salt and stir in water.
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until veggies are just slightly cooked (~5 minutes).
7. Stir in the peas, cover, and remove from heat. Set aside.

Assembly

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F) and grease a casserole dish.
2. Pour the chile-spiked rice into the bottom of the prepared dish and press it into a smooth layer.

3. Dump the vegetable curry in on top and smooth it into an even layer.

4. Top with the yellow saffron rice, smoothing this layer as well.
5. Cover the dish and bake at 150°C (300°F) for 45-60 minutes.

---

Variations

Vegan

Ingredients

Rice

• 1 c. long-grain brown rice
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp. saffron threads
• 1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies

Vegetable Curry

• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. black cumin seeds
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 (Indian) bay leaves
• 2 (3") cinnamon sticks
• 1 red onion, halved and sliced
• 6-8 cloves of garlic, julienned
• 1 c. cauliflower florets
• 1 c. fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 2.5cm (1") pieces
• 2-3 small carrots, cut into 1cm cubes
• 2 tsp. Punjabi garam masala
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. water
• 1/2 c. fresh or frozen green peas