Veg Biryani Recipes: 5 Delicious Vegetable Biryani Ideas That May Surprise Every Food Lover

Love biryani but want to skip chicken and mutton? Try these 5 flavour-packed vegetable biryani recipes featuring aromatic rice, colourful vegetables and delicious Indian spices.

You can make brilliant biryani without chicken or mutton

People usually think about chicken or mutton when they hear the word biryani. You can actually make incredibly tasty biryani using vegetables. Brinjal, mushroom, cauliflower, beetroot, and soya chunks carry their own unique flavours and textures.

You should not cook all vegetables the same way. You can make a fantastic biryani if you adjust the spices and cooking methods to suit each specific vegetable.

You must try these five biryani recipes if you are a vegetarian or if you just want to look beyond the usual vegetable biryani.

Brinjal biryani offers an irresistible taste

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice – 1 cup
• Brinjal – 5 to 6
• Onion – 2
• Tomato – 1
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
• Green chilli – 2
• Curd – ¼ cup
• Mint leaves – a handful
• Coriander leaves – a handful
• Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom – as required
• Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
• Garam masala – ½ teaspoon
• Oil – as required
• Salt – as required

Method:

You must first slice the brinjals lengthwise. You need to sauté them lightly with a little salt and turmeric powder, and keep them aside. You should wash the basmati rice and soak it for 20 minutes. You then boil water, add salt and some whole spices, and cook the rice until it is 70 to 80 percent done before draining it. You must heat oil in the same vessel and sauté the onions with cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. You then add ginger garlic paste, green chillies, and tomatoes, and sauté them well.

You add curd, chilli powder, garam masala, mint, and coriander leaves to cook the masala thoroughly. You gently mix in the sautéed brinjals. You spread the half-cooked rice over this mixture, sprinkle mint and coriander leaves on top, cover the vessel, and cook it on dum over a low flame for 10 to 15 minutes. Your aromatic brinjal biryani is now ready.

Mushroom biryani gives you that perfect meaty texture

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice – 1 cup
• Mushroom – 200 grams
• Onion – 2
• Tomato – 1
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
• Green chilli – 2
• Curd – ¼ cup
• Mint, coriander leaves – as required
• Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf – as required
• Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
• Coriander powder – ½ teaspoon
• Garam masala – ½ teaspoon
• Lemon juice – 1 teaspoon
• Oil – as required
• Salt – as required

Method:

You must clean the mushrooms thoroughly and chop them to the required size. You heat oil in a vessel, lightly sauté the mushrooms without overcooking them, and keep them aside.

You soak the basmati rice for 20 minutes. You cook the rice in boiling water with salt and whole spices until it is 70 to 80 percent done, and then drain it. You heat oil in a vessel and add cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. You then add onions, green chillies, and ginger garlic paste, and sauté them well.

You add tomatoes and mash them well. You mix in chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and curd, and cook the mixture thoroughly. You add the mushrooms and mix them with the masala. You spread the rice on top, add mint, coriander leaves, and a little lemon juice, and cover the vessel. You cook it on dum over a low flame for 10 to 15 minutes to prepare a fragrant mushroom biryani.

Cauliflower biryani packs massive flavour in every single floret

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice – 1 cup
• Cauliflower – 250 grams
• Onion – 2
• Tomato – 1
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
• Curd – ¼ cup
• Green chilli – 2
• Mint, coriander leaves – as required
• Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
• Garam masala – ½ teaspoon
• Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom – as required
• Oil – as required
• Salt – as required

Method:

You separate the cauliflower into small florets, drop them in salted hot water for a few minutes, and drain them well. You mix the cauliflower with a little turmeric powder, chilli powder, and salt, lightly sauté them in oil, and keep them aside. You soak the basmati rice, cook it in water with salt and whole spices until it is 70 to 80 percent done, and drain it.

You heat oil in a vessel, add cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom, and sauté the onions. You add ginger garlic paste, green chillies, and tomatoes, and cook them well. You prepare the masala by adding curd, chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, mint, and coriander leaves. You gently mix the sautéed cauliflower into this masala. You spread the rice on top, cover the vessel, and cook it on dum over a low flame for 10 to 15 minutes to get your cauliflower biryani ready.

Beetroot biryani stands out with its amazing colour and taste

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice – 1 cup
• Beetroot – 1 small
• Onion – 2
• Tomato – 1
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
• Green chilli – 2
• Curd – ¼ cup
• Mint leaves – a handful
• Coriander leaves – a handful
• Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom – as required
• Chilli powder – ½ to 1 teaspoon
• Garam masala – ½ teaspoon
• Lemon juice – 1 teaspoon
• Oil – as required
• Salt – as required

Method:

You peel the beetroot and either chop it into small pieces or grate it. You soak the basmati rice for 20 minutes, cook it in water with salt and whole spices until it is 70 to 80 percent done, and drain it.

You heat oil in a vessel and add cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. You sauté the onions, green chillies, and ginger garlic paste. You then add the tomatoes and beetroot, and sauté them well. You cook the beetroot masala by adding curd, chilli powder, garam masala, mint, coriander leaves, and salt.

You spread the cooked rice over this mixture, add a little lemon juice and mint, and cover the vessel. You cook it on dum over a low flame for 10 to 15 minutes to serve a beautifully coloured beetroot biryani.

Soya chunks biryani serves as a brilliant vegetarian alternative to chicken biryani

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice – 1 cup
• Soya chunks – 1 cup
• Onion – 2
• Tomato – 1
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
• Green chilli – 2
• Curd – ¼ cup
• Mint, coriander leaves – as required
• Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom – as required
• Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
• Coriander powder – ½ teaspoon
• Garam masala – ½ teaspoon
• Lemon juice – 1 teaspoon
• Oil – as required
• Salt – as required

Method:

You first soak the soya chunks in hot water for 5 to 10 minutes, squeeze them well, and remove the excess water.

You mix the soya chunks with curd, chilli powder, a little garam masala, ginger garlic paste, and salt, and let them marinate for 15 to 20 minutes. You separately cook the basmati rice until it is 70 to 80 percent done and drain it.

You heat oil in a vessel, add the whole spices, and sauté the onions and green chillies. You add ginger garlic paste, tomatoes, coriander powder, chilli powder, and garam masala, and cook the mixture. You add the marinated soya chunks and sauté them well for a few minutes. You then spread the cooked rice on top and add mint, coriander leaves, and lemon juice.

You cover the vessel and cook it on dum over a low flame for 10 to 15 minutes to make a delicious soya chunks biryani.