Biryani

The most delicious, flavorful, spice-warm rice you will ever eat. There are many recipes on the internet to choose from, but mine is pretty darn good, so don’t even bother to shop around. You could serve this with a huge salad and grilled mushrooms or tofu and it would be an impressive meal. I served mine with a cauliflower and pea curry which had the same flavor profile as the biryani, so I don’t think the rice  got its well-deserved acclaim. 

I found a recipe for bryani (a typo?)  in “The Vegetarian Epicure” by Anna Thomas, copyright 1972. 1972! The entire cookbook is quite a walk down ‘hippie’ lane, but there are some gems between the pages. I made some modifications and those are reflected below.

Biryani

Here’s what you need:
¼ C non-dairy butter

1 ½ t cumin seeds

1 ½ t mustard seeds

¼ t cayenne pepper

½ t salt

1 clove garlic, crushed and minced

¼ t turmeric

¼ t ground ginger

½ t ground cinnamon

½ t ground coriander

1 large eggplant, peeled and diced

1 C sliced green onions

1 C blanched fresh wax beans (yellow beans), cut in 1 inch pieces

1 C chopped  jarred sweet red peppers

1 C chopped fresh tomatoes

4-5 C cooked rice, which has been prepared in vegetable broth

2/3 C roasted cashews, chopped in large pieces (or left whole for a better presentation)
½ C golden raisins

Here’s what you do:

Melt the butter and stir in the spices for a few minutes. Add the vegetables. Stir well and cook until veg is a bit soft. Add the cooked rice, cashews, and raisins. Stir well and pour in a buttered casserole. Cover tightly and bake at 350 degrees for about ½ hour.