Vegan Biryani

This vegan biryani recipe is a delicious, Indian comfort recipe made with rice, a silky smooth sauce and a unique combination of amazing spices! It’s also quite rich in proteins! 

Biryani is a traditional Indian recipe made with basmati rice, a sauce (made with yogurt), lots of spices and a type of meat, such as lamb or chicken.

Vegan Biryani is quite a popular version of this meat-based dish. The yogurt sauce can be replaced by cashews and the meat by soy chunks. The rest of the ingredients remain pretty much the same. If you want it to have a “meaty”, smoky flavor, I recommend you add some smoked paprika in the water in which you soak the soy. It will taste even better.

The sauce is made with a ton of different spices, so make sure your spice rack is full before deciding to make this recipe. If you want to cheat, you can buy biryani powder or if you plan on eating Indian food more often, try to make it at home in a larger batch.

I love textured soy protein, it mimics meat perfectly, but make sure you buy non-GMO only! If you add the right spices and choose the right cooking technique, you can turn TSP into fake ground meat, schnitzels, steak, burgers, and more!

Cashews will give this vegan biryani a perfect, smooth, milky flavor. Make sure you soak them for at least 2 hours before using, preferably overnight.

Hope you’ll like this vegan biryani recipe! Don’t forget, if you give my recipes a try, take a photo and tag me on Instagram @gourmandelleblog and use the hashtag #gourmandellerecipe. I will feature you on my Facebook page and/or Instagram Stories! 🙂

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Yield: 8

Vegan Biryani

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This vegan biryani recipe is a delicious, Indian comfort recipe made with rice, a silky smooth sauce and a unique combination of amazing spices! It's also quite rich in proteins!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 300g (1 ½ cups) basmati or brown rice
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 4 Tbsp coconut oil
• 2 onions, medium
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tsps ginger, grated
• 3 tomatoes, cubed
• 170g (2 cups) soy chunks, soaked
• 70g (½ cup) cashew nuts, soaked
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 4 cloves
• 3 cardamom pods
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 70g (½ cup) roasted cashews
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. In a small pot, add the rice and water (about 5-6 cups) and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to the lowest, and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Strain the excess water.
2. In a food processor, blend the soaked cashews, garlic and ginger, and 1 cumin seeds into a smooth paste, using as little water as possible. Set aside
3. Heat a big pan on medium high heat, add the rest of cumin seeds and let them dry fry a minute, then, add some oil in pan, add the cinnamon stick,cloves, cardamom pods, chili powder, ground coriander, garam masala, turmeric and bay leaves. Sauté for a minute.
4. Add the blended cashew paste and saute for one more minute.
5. In a small pan with a little oil, stir fry the onions, until golden-brown, move them to the spice and cashew mix in the big pan, add the carrot and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Now add the tomatoes and hydrated soy chunks, mix well and let the mixture cook for 5 minutes.
7. Now that we have the mixture ready, we can add the rice and roasted cashews.
8. Cover with a lid and let the vegetable Biryani cook for 5-7 more minutes.Add a little bit more liquid if needed.
9. Serve with chopped mint leaves on top.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8
Amount Per Serving Calories 555Total Fat 26.2gCarbohydrates 64.4gProtein 15.4g

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