Vegan vegetable biryani with cashews

Vegan vegetable biryani with cashews: fragrant basmati rice, cauliflower, peas, pepper and saffron, gently steamed with warm spices and toasted cashews.

At a glance

• Serves 4
• Prep time: 15 min
• Cooking time: 25 min
• Total time: 40 min
• Calories: 440 kcal per serving
• Protein: 10 g
• Fat: 16 g
• Carbs: 62 g

Ingredients

• 250 g basmati rice
• 1 cauliflower
• 1 potato
• 100 g peas
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 piece of ginger (about 2 cm)
• 50 g cashews
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 3 cardamom pods
• 1 pepper
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 cloves
• 1 pinch of saffron
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 handful of coriander

Method

You’ll need: saucepan

1. Wash the basmati rice thoroughly, soak briefly and cook in lightly salted water until only half-cooked. Leave the saffron to infuse in warm water.
2. Prepare the cauliflower, potato, pepper, onion, garlic and ginger. That way everything cooks evenly later.
3. Heat the coconut oil in a heavy pan and fry the onion with the cardamom, cloves and cinnamon until golden brown. Toast the garlic and ginger briefly with them.
4. Add the cauliflower, potato, pepper and peas and soften gently with the garam masala and turmeric for 3–4 min. Spread the veg mixture out in the pan and layer the rice over it.
5. Drizzle the saffron water over the rice, put the lid on tightly and steam everything over a very low heat until the rice and veg are cooked. Then leave to rest briefly and fluff up carefully.
6. Dry-fry the cashews and serve the biryani with the cashews and fresh coriander.

Good to know

This biryani is mellow, fragrant and satisfying. It tastes like the weekend, even though it fits on the table just as well during the week. The spices make it special without feeling heavy.

Swaps

Cashews → almonds (more fibre and vitamin E). Potato → sweet potato (more beta-carotene). Coconut oil → olive oil (more monounsaturated fats). Peas → chickpeas (more protein and fibre).

Allergens

Contains tree nuts from the cashews; for children, season mildly and remove whole spices before serving, and during pregnancy the dish is usually fine as long as the rice and veg are cooked through.

Dairy-free recipes