Vegan Biryani With Cauliflower
This vegan biryani with cauliflower is a meatless take on an Indian classic. I use chickpeas, brown basmati rice, and quinoa for a vibrant and nutritious dish. The warm spices, tender cauliflower, and fluffy grains create a hearty plant-based meal. I serve this when I want something flavorsome, nourishing, and family-approved.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 282kcal
Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes diced
- 1 red onion ½ diced and ½ thinly sliced
- 3-5 fresh green chiles (such as Thai or Serrano) stemmed and seeded
- 1½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup cashews
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 4 cardamom pods
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp salt (more to taste)
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ cup brown basmati rice
- ½ cup quinoa
- 8 oz baby spinach
- 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
- 1 15oz can chickpeas rinsed & drained
- 2 cups water
- ½ tsp saffron
Instructions
- Bring two cups water to a boil. Once it's boiling, add in brown rice, quinoa, and ½ tsp saffron threads. Stir and lower heat (to lowest setting) and let the rice mixture cook.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Puree tomatoes, chopped onion and chiles to taste in a food processor, scraping down the sides as needed, to make a smooth sauce.
- Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add raisins and cashews and cook, stirring, until the raisins are plump and the nuts are lightly brown, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- After you take out the raisins/cashews, add about 2-3 tsp oil in the skillet. Add cumin seeds, cardamom pods, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring, until light brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour in the pureed tomato mixture (it may spatter) and reduce heat to medium. Stir in garam masala, 3/4 teaspoon salt and turmeric. Simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid evaporates, about 15 minutes.
- Stir spinach, cauliflower, chickpeas and up to 1 cup water into the tomato sauce. Cover and remove from the heat.
- Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Spread half the chickpea curry evenly in the prepared baking dish. Spread the rice mixture on top of the curry. Spoon the remaining chickpea mixture over the rice. Scatter the reserved raisins and cashews over the top. Cover with foil. Bake until the rice is tender, ~35 min. Remove the bay leaves, cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks before serving.
Notes
- My #1 Secret Tip for this vegan biryani with cauliflower recipe is to cook off the whole spices in oil before adding the sauce. I always make sure to bloom my spices so that my sauce has depth and dimension. It only takes 30 seconds to a minute of cooking to release the aromas. Make sure to stir constantly to avoid scorching.
- Undercook the grains: I make sure to cook the rice and quinoa until just about tender. If they are fully cooked, they will turn mushy during the baking period, and it needs to be fluffy.
- Cauliflower size: I keep my florist handout 1 1/2 inches wide, so they are able to soften, but keep their shape while baking.
- Mild heat: If I am using chili but want a mild heat, I remove the seeds from my serrano chilli, or use 1/2 chili
- Blanch and peel tomatoes:For an extra smooth sauce, I blanch my tomatoes in hot water, place them in an ice bath, and peel off the skins.
Nutrition
Calories: 282kcal | Carbohydrates: 45.7g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 8.3g | Saturated Fat: 1.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4.3g | Sodium: 684.7mg | Potassium: 981.6mg | Fiber: 9.4g | Sugar: 7g