Malabar Biryani | Kerala Thalassery Biryani (Veg)

5 from 6 votes

Malabar Biryani | Kerala Thalassery Biryani (Veg)

This Malabar Biryani is a mild and delicately spiced vegetable biryani made with a bevy of fresh veggies, spices, herbs, onions, cashews, raisins and coconut milk. Best served with side of raita and some papadam.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Kerala, South Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 811kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

For the rice

2 cups rice - soaked in 3 cups water, kaima rice or basmati rice
6 cups water - for cooking rice
¼ or ⅓ cup cashews - chopped
15 to 20 curry leaves
¼ cup raisins
1 cup onions - thinly sliced
5 to 6 tablespoons oil
12 to 15 saffron strands dissolved in 1.5 tablespoon water or yellow edible color or a pinch of turmeric dissolved in water can also be used.
salt as required

For the vegetable gravy

2 cup chopped vegetables - I used small eggplants (brinjal), potato, carrots
½ cup green peas - fresh or frozen
1.5 cups onions - thinly sliced
2 inches cinnamon stick
7 to 8 cloves
4 to 5 green cardamoms
2 cups Coconut Milk - thick or canned thick coconut milk
1 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
2 green chilies - chopped
½ cup water or as needed
1 teaspoon coriander powder (ground coriander)
1 teaspoon fennel powder (ground fennel)
½ teaspoon black pepper powder
¼ or ½ teaspoon red chilli powder or cayenne pepper
¼ or ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
½ or 1 tablespoon lemon juice or ¼ cup curd (yogurt)
1 tablespoon mint leaves - chopped
1 tablespoon coriander leaves (cilantro), chopped
salt as required

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preparation

First, rinse the rice a few times in water. Soak the rice for 20 to 30 minutes.
Later cook the rice in water until the rice grains are ¾ᵗʰ cooked. Drain the remaining starchy water and set the rice grains aside.
Heat oil and add the sliced onions.
Fry till the onions become light golden.
Add the cashewnuts, raisins and curry leaves.
Fry till the mixture turns golden on low heat. Don't burn.
Remove with a slotted spoon and add the fried onions, cashews, raisins and curry leaves to the cooked rice.
Do not mix. Simply make a layer of the fried onions mixture on top of the rice.

Making vegetable gravy

In another pan, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of this oil in which the onions were fried. You can add more oil if required. Heat the oil on a low flame.
You can also opt to use fresh oil or use ghee instead.
Add the whole spices - cinnamon, cloves and green cardamoms.
On a low heat fry till the oil becomes fragrant and the spices splutter.
Now, add the 1.5 cups sliced onions and sauté on medium-low heat until light golden, stirring often.
Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chilies. Sauté for a minute on low heat.
Add the dry ground spice powders and sauté for a few seconds.
Add the mixed chopped vegetables. Sauté for a minute.
Add the coconut milk. Stir and then add water along with lemon juice.
If using yogurt instead of lemon juice, then add at this step. Stir well.
Add ½ cup of water. Cover the pan and let the vegetables cook on low to medium-low heat. The gravy will reduce a bit.
Once the vegetables are tender and cooked, we can start layering the biryani.

Layering and making Malabar Biryani

Grease an oven proof bowl or pan with oil.
Layer the vegetable gravy first. Then layer the rice.
Spread the chopped mint and coriander leaves on top.
Sprinkle the saffron water. Dot with some oil.
Spread another layer of the vegetable gravy.
Now spread the fourth layer of rice.
Sprinkle the chopped mint, coriander leaves and saffron water.
Dot with some oil again. Cover and seal tightly with an aluminium foil.
Bake Kerala Biryani in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 25 to 30 minutes.
You can also cook the layered biryani in a tightly covered pan on stove top for 25 to 30 minutes on low heat.
Serve Malabar Biryani hot or warm with raita or kachumber.

Notes

Add vegetables of your choice. You can even make this Malabar Biryani with button mushrooms, steamed or cooked unripe jackfruit or soya chunks.
Instead of oil, you can use ghee or coconut oil.
Use thick coconut milk. Homemade is better but you can also use canned thick coconut milk.

Nutrition