The biryani essentials – fragrant rice and deep, complex spice – ensure this vegetarian biryani will satisfy any spicy biryani lover. Beyond meat meatballs replace the animal protein making this a healthy recreation of a classic South Asian dish.
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My first biryani experience was in Yangon, Myanmar, in the mid-1990s. Because of Myanmar’s adjacency to India and the significant presence of South Asian heritage amidst its population, the quality of Indian food available in Yangon is very high.
I was a regular visitor to my local biryani shop. Like fish and chips in New Zealand, it was comfort food and even came wrapped in newspaper. The aromas were intoxicating. And the tastes – complex spice flavours layered onto fragrant rice – was like nothing I had ever had before. Biryani is still a popular food in Yangon. Gone is the newspaper packaging. And, there are now many different protein options beyond the traditional chicken and mutton.
A Rich Heritage
As with so many ubiquitous dishes today (looking at you phở), the origins can be challenging to determine. Some Persian influence appears likely, with biryani being a fusion of Indian spicy rice dishes and Persian pilaf brought to India by Arab traders. For a more in-depth biryani background, The Story of Biryani on The Better India website is worth a few minutes of your time.
In the years since my Yangon experience, I have always hoped to find a source of biryani as satisfying as I remember those Myanmar experiences to be. Perhaps my expectations are unrealistic, but I am still searching.
While going down a YouTube rabbit hole one day, I came across this inspiring video. It is about the making of duck biryani in the Indian countryside.
This video inspired me to put aside the search and instead create something myself. Something that would adequately honour those memories from Yangon. While the initial focus was a duck biryani, things evolved while developing this vegetarian biryani recipe.
The Plant-Based Movement – Beyond Meatballs
The plant-based meat substitute movement is experiencing significant growth as people adopt diets that are healthier for themselves and the environment. The popularity of Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, and New Zealand’s Plan*t is strong evidence of this. After a very positive experience making burgers with Beyond Burger patties, using plant-based protein in my evolving biryani recipe was an irresistible challenge. Sorry duck legs, we’ll get back to you.
Beyond is the only plant-based meat brand I could buy in Vietnam when developing this recipe. And apart from the Beyond Burger patties that I used previously, the only other product available was Beyond Beef, a substitute for minced beef. With selected aromatics and spices, this plant-based minced beef substitute was transformed into delicious meatballs and immersed into the spicy gravy that is the basis of this vegetarian biryani.
A Word About Basmati Rice
With 40,000 types of rice used around the world, why does this recipe specify basmati rice? Basmati is long-grain rice favoured in South Asian cooking. Long grain rice is relatively low in starch content. When prepared correctly (rinsed before cooking!), the result is light and dry rice with distinct grains – perfect for biryani.
You should find basmati rice at your supermarket or local Asian store. Alternatively, buy it at Amazon.
Beyond Meatball Vegetarian Biryani
Ingredients
Fried onions
- 2 onions, large
- 2 Tbsp ghee
Saffron liquid
- 1 tsp saffron threads or 1/2 tsp saffron powder
- 3 Tbsp warm water
Raita
- 250 g Greek yogurt
- 150 g cucumber, deseeded and finely diced
- 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp garam marsala
- 1/4 tsp salt
Beyond Meatballs
- 600 g Beyond Meat Mince
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 15 g fresh ginger, grated
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint and coriander leaves
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
- fresh breadcrumbs from 2 slices of toast bread or equivalent
- 1 egg
Basmati rice
- 500 g basmati rice
- 3 litres water
- 2 star anise
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves
- 6 green cardamon seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Biryani gravy
- 100 g ghee
- 2 onions, large, finely diced
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 2-3 green cardamon seeds
- 2-3 cloves
- 10 black peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 black cardamon seed
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 green chillies, finely diced
- 15 g fresh ginger, grated
- 3 tomatoes, large, chopped into small pieces
- 1 tsp salt
- 50 ml water
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder substitute with paprika
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp tumeric
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 200 g greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint and coriander leaves
Garnish
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint and coriander leaves
- 30 g butter, cubed
- Yellow raisins
- Toasted cashews
Sides
- Salad
- Raita
Instructions
Fried onions
- Peel and dice the onions into thin but long pieces.
-
Sauté over a low heat in a skillet until caramelised and golden, about 30 minutes.
Saffron liquid
- Soak the saffron in the warm water for 30 to 60 minutes.
Raita
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Beyond Meatballs
-
Combine all the ingredients and mix well.
- Form into 15-20 golfball sized meatballs.
- Bring a skillet up to a medium heat and add a Tbsp ghee or vegetable oil.
-
Brown the meatballs in the skillet.
- Set aside.
Basmati rice
- Rinse the rice in a strainer under cold running water until the water flows clear.
- Pour the 3L of water into a large heavy based saucepan.
- Add the oil, spices, and salt.
- Bring the water to a boil.
- Add the rice and bring back up to a boil.
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Cook for 4 – 5 minutes. The rice should be 3/4 cooked – still a little firm in the middle. Check at 4 minutes.
- Drain and set aside.
Biryani gravy
- Heat the ghee in large heavy based saucepan or dutch oven.
- Fry the diced onions until golden brown.
- Add the whole spices – the cumin seeds, green and black cardamon seeds, cloves, peppercorns, and cinnamon stick. Allow to sizzle in the oil for a minute or two.
- Add the crushed garlic, diced green chillies, and grated ginger and stir in, cooking for another minute or two.
- Add the diced tomatoes, salt, and 50 ml water. Stir.
- Add the powdered spices – the chilli powder, paprika, garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric, and ground nutmeg. Stir to combine.
- Cook until the tomato pieces break down and the masala spice mixture has merged into the mix – about 15 minutes.
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Add the yogurt and herbs and mix thoroughly. Cook for a minute or two.
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Add the meatballs to the gravy, stir to coat, and gently simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat.
Assembling the biryani
- Spread half of the cooked rice over the meatballs and gravy.
-
Distribute half of the chopped mint and coriander, and half of the fried onions, over the rice.
- Spread the rest of the cooked rice over the herbs and onions.
- Drizzle the saffron water over the rice.
- Top the rice with the remaining herbs and fried onions.
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Dot cubes of butter around the rice.
- Cover with a tight fitting lid and put over a medium-low heat.
- As soon as you see steam turn the heat down to low and cook for 30 minutes. If the heat is too high, it will burn. Alternatively, if you are using a suitable cooking vessel, cook in a 180 degC oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and rest with the lid on for 10 minutes.
Garnish
- Sprinkle with raisins and toasted cashews.
- Serve with raita and a salad.
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