This recipe is a part of my Global Vegan Challenge where each week I research and develop a recipe from a different country in the world. Many of these recipes are veganized based off their omnivore counterparts. While not all of these recipes are a one for one what you’ll find in their country, I hope you’ll still find them delicious!
Recipe Notes
- The below recipe almost exclusively used whole spices. While some of these are fine to eat whole, there are others that you’ll want to eat around (bay leaves, omani, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and green/black cardamom pods). Don’t bite into those.
Vegan Chicken-less Biryani
Details
8 – 10 servings
30 minutes
45 minutes
Print
Rice Ingredients
4 cups Water (3 1/2 for cooking, 1/2 for saffron/omani)
2 cups Basmati Rice
3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 teaspoon Cloves, whole
1 teaspoon Coriander Seeds, whole
1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds, whole
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Bay Leaves
6 Green Cardamom Pods
2 Omani Limes
2 Black Cardamom Pods
1 Ceylon Cinnamon Stick
1 large pinch Saffron Threads
Biryani Ingredients
20 ounces Chicken Style Seitan (I used chicken style seitan by No Evil foods, but use your favorite here)
16 ounces Vegan Yogurt (I use Kite Hill’s plain and unsweetened yogurt, but if you use a different brand try and find one that is also cultured.)
6 Thai Chilies
5 Yellow Potatoes
2 Vine Tomatoes
1/2 Yellow Onion
1 cup Prunes
1 cup Water
1/3 cup Fresh Cilantro, minced and packed
1/4 cup Fresh Mint, minced and packed
10 Garlic Cloves
6 Green Cardamom Pods
2 Black Cardamom Pods
2 Bay Leaves
1 Ceylon Cinnamon Stick
6 tablespoons Vegetable Oil, divided (3 tablespoons for frying, 3 for sauteing)
1 tablespoon Black Peppercorns
2 teaspoons Ginger Paste (microplaned fresh is fine)
2 teaspoons Chipotle Powder
1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 teaspoon Amchoor Powder
1 teaspoon Coriander Seeds
1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1/2 teaspoon Kala Namak Black Salt
Rice Directions
- Fill up a bowl with water and soak rice for 30 minutes. After the rice is done soaking drain off water and set aside. Prepare the rest of your biryani while rice is soaking.
- Once soaking completes heat up a pot over medium high heat. Add oil and saute cloves, coriander, cumin, bay, green cardamom, and black cardamom until fragrant. Add 3 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
- Add basmati and salt to pot. Bring temperature down to medium and cover for 8 minutes.
- Check rice for doneness. Once rice has reached 80% doneness (still slightly firm / brittle in the middle) remove from heat and drain off excess water. Rinse rice with cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside until ready for use.
Biryani Directions
- Slice onion into very thin half moons. Heat up a saute pan on medium high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of oil and onions. Saute until fried, when set onions aside on a paper towels until ready for use.
- Fill a small bowl with 1/2 cup of hot water. Add saffron and omani lemons (pierce omani before adding to water). Cover and set aside until ready for use.
- Add prunes to a bowl and cover with water. Once rehydrated, squeeze out excess water and mice. Set aside.
- Dice tomatoes and mince garlic. Set aside.
- Prepare marinated chicken seitan. Place seitan in a large bowl. Add vegan yogurt, turmeric, kala namak, amchoor, chipotle, and ginger paste. Mix. Add tomatoes, garlic, prunes, and fried onions. Mix well.
- Dice potatoes, set aside. Split thai chilies down the center lengthwise. Cut off and discard stems. Set aside.
- Heat up a large stock pot over medium high heat. Once to temperature add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add cinnamon, peppercorns, bay leaves, green cardamom, black cardamom, cumin, and coriander. Saute until fragrant then add potatoes and chilies. Saute for 8 to 10 minutes or until potatoes are 80% cooked (slightly undercooked in the middle).
- Turn down heat to medium-low and add yogurt-seitan marinade to stock pot. Add 1 cup water and mix well. Pour rice loosely on top of yogurt-seitan-potato mixture until completely covered. Take saffron-omani water and discard omani (squeeze excess liquid out of omani frist). Spiral saffron liquid over the rice.
- Cover pot and allow to cook for 10 minutes. Once time is up, check rice for doneness. If full cooked, remove from heat, if not give it another 2 to 5 minutes or until cooked.
- Once biryani is cooked, remove from heat and allow flavors to marry for 10 minutes. Mince cilantro and mint. Set aside.
- After biryani finishes sits, add most of cilantro and mint to pot and mix well (save some mint and cilantro for garnish). Enjoy hot!
Quick thoughts on the dish from the Twitch stream!
