Ingredients:
Soya chunks/soya curls or cubed firm tofu- about 2 cups
(note: you can also use the vegan ‘chikn’ recipe that will follow!)
4 cups cooked basmati rice
½ packet of Biryani masala powder (preferably Hyderabadi style)
½ cup plant-based milk (oat is best, but almond or soya (unsweetened!) is ok, or even water)
2 onions, sliced
2 green chillies, halved lengthwise
1 tbsp garlic ginger paste
Large pinch of saffron threads soaked in water or plant-based milk (1 tsp) for 10 min
1 cup coriander leaves, chopped
1 cup mint leaves, chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 baddi elaichi
2-3 star anise
8-10 green elaichi
½ cinnamon stick
10-12 black peppercorns [rml_read_more]
6-8 cloves
1-2 tsp of kewda water
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C
- Add the biryani powder to the plant ‘milk’ , mix until well combined
- Coat the soya chunks in the above marinade and keep aside in a bowl to start absorbing flavour
- Sautee the onion slices in 1 tsp olive oil until golden brown– add to the marinade bowl
- Now, add the chopped cilantro and mint leaves, the saffron ‘milk’, the garlic-ginger paste, and the green mirchi to the bowl. Let sit and marinate while you prepare the rice
- Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large tawa or wok. Add the whole spices and cook until they become fragrant
- Turn off the heat and add the rice, toss to coat the rice in the spices
- IF you have a dutch oven, great! Use this. Otherwise, use a deep/thick bottomed pot. Put a few drops of oil in the bottom of the pot to coat
- You’re now ready to layer! Add some rice, then add the soya chunk mixture, and layer- you should end up with about 4 layers. While layering, sprinkle some kewda water on the rice. The last layer should be rice. If you have vegan butter and want to make this extra sinful, you can put a few pieces of the vegan butter in the top layer of rice. You can also sprinkle some mint leaves on that top layer.
- Cover the dutch oven or pot and place in oven for 45 minutes to slow cook
- Serve hot with sliced raw onions! Enjoy!