Fragrant vegetable & cashew biryani

Fragrant vegetable & cashew biryani

A delicious vegetarian main dish or accompaniment to another curry, ideal for a curry buffet or spicy feast

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 8

Preperation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr

Vegetarian

Vegetarian, Super healthy

Method

  1. Rinse the rice in several changes of water to remove excess starch, then put in a bowl of cold water and leave to soak for 30 mins.
  2. Meanwhile, fry the onions in the oil for 8 mins until soft and starting to colour. Add the ginger, then cook for 2 mins more. Stir in the curry paste followed by the whole spices, cook for 1 min more, then tip in the potatoes and cauliflower. Pour in 300ml water, cover and boil for about 5-7 mins until the veg are just tender, but still have a little resistance. Stir in the yogurt and peas with 1 tsp salt.
  3. Mix the saffron, rosewater and 3 tbsp boiling water together and stir well. Drain the rice, tip into a pan of boiling salted water, then cook for 5 mins until almost tender. Drain again. Get out a large ovenproof dish with a lid and butter the base. Tip the curry sauce into the base, scatter over the nuts, then spoon over the rice. Drizzle over the rosewater mixture, then cover with foil followed by the lid. Can be chilled overnight until ready to cook.
  4. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Put the biryani in the oven for 45 mins-1 hr until thoroughly heated through. To check it's ready, try a spoonful from the centre of the rice. For the garnish, slowly fry the onions in the oil until really golden and crisp (this can be done in advance). When the biryani is hot and ready to serve, gently toss through the onions and coriander.
Try

Good source of vitamin C, counts as 1 of 5-a-day

Don't walk away from the rice as it boils - the pre-soaked grains cook quicker than you'd expect, so you need to ensure that it doesn't overcook.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2008.

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Per serving

469 kcalories, protein 14g, carbohydrate 67g, fat 18 g, saturated fat 4g, fibre 4g, salt 1.11 g

Latest comments and suggestions

  • 18 January 2008

    Andrea rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 23 January 2008

    Claire Helen rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delicious and relatively easy to prepare and cook. My young children liked it too, as it was spicy without the heat.

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  • 17 February 2008

    Anne rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely fantastic! Made it for a dinner party on New Year's Eve with the rest of the "Indian Buffet" in January's GF. It was a great success and have made it again since.

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  • 10 March 2008

    Sue Spink rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was fabulous, even though I had no cauliflower and I used pinenuts instead of cashews. It could be adapted easily depending what veg you have in.

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  • 20 March 2008

    Annie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was absolutely delicious. Who needs meat???

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  • 16 April 2008

    nick's food rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    again really nice and easy, recommend for those fussy meat eaters who think vegetarian curries cannot compare

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  • 30 April 2008

    sally rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    lovely flavour, a long winded cooking method but really tasty.

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  • Binder photo Eve

    15 May 2008

    Eve commented on this recipe

    I found there was far too much rice in this dish. It left it a bit tasteless.

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  • Binder photo Eve

    15 May 2008

    Eve rated this recipe

    3 stars

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 8

Preperation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr

Vegetarian

Vegetarian, Super healthy

Ingredients

  • 500g basmati rice
  • 2 large onions , halved and thinly sliced
  • 4 tbsp sunflower oil
  • thumb-size piece fresh root ginger , shredded
  • 65g sachet korma curry paste (we used Sharwood's)
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 6 green cardamom pods
  • 3 star anise
  • 250g diced potatoes
  • 1 small cauliflower , cut into small florets
  • 250g Greek yogurt
  • 225g frozen peas
  • 2 good pinches saffron
  • ½ tsp rosewater
  • butter , for greasing
  • 100g roasted, salted cashews nuts

FOR THE GARNISH

  • 2 onions , halved and very thinly sliced
  • 3 tbsp sunflower oil
  • good handful coriander
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Per serving

469 kcalories, protein 14g, carbohydrate 67g, fat 18 g, saturated fat 4g, fibre 4g, salt 1.11 g

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