I love Indian food, and great Indian is pretty hard to come by in Sydney. Im lucky enough to have a few very close friends who have a rainbow of Indian heritage, and spoil me with their home cooking from time to time. Im really fond of a biryani and cooked up this super easy vegetarian version, for meat free Sunday lunch.
Cooking Time: 30 Mins
Ingredients:
- 1tbsp Ginger Paste
- 1tbsp Garlic Paste
- 1/2 Lemon
- 1tsp Ground Tumeric
- Cayenne Pepper (you can substitute with Chilli powder)
- Garam Masala
- 1/2 cup of Coriander
- 4tbsp Coconut Oil
- 3 Cloves
- 1tbsp Cinnamon
- 3 Cardamom Pods (squashed)
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 3 Cups of Basmati Rice
- 2 Red/White Onions
- 2 Cups of lentil
- 2 Cups of Cashew Nuts
Method:
- Place the rice in a small saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and leave to the side.
- Finely chop the onions and sauté on a low heat in a tbsp of the coconut oil until the become soft and clear. Then transfer to a bowl for use later.
- Using a large pan on a low heat, transfer the remaining coconut oil and bring to heat. Then add all of the spices and delicately heat until you begin to spell the aroma of the spice mix.
- Carefully pour half of the spiced oil into another container for later use.
- Add lentils and cashew nuts to spiced oil and sauté for 3 – 4 minutes. Again, remove half of this mixture for later use.
- Next we are going to layer the remaining ingredients in the pan. Firstly add a layer of onions, then half of the rice, another layer of the lentil and nut mix, final layer of onions and final layer of rice.
- Pour on remaining spiced oil, cover and leave on a low heat for 30 minutes or until rice is fully cooked.
- Serve with chopped coriander and salt and pepper to taste.
p.s. I’m slightly obsessed with fresh peas so added them in last minute.
