I love the idea of a Veggie biryani. Why should non-vegetarians have all the fun? Cauliflower biryani or Gobi biryani is a tasty Vegetarian biryani especially with Cauliflower 65 or Cauliflower Manchurian as a side dish. Whatever we do with chicken we can do the same recipes with Cauliflower (Fries, curries, grill etc.,) 🙂 Okay, lets see how to make Cauliflower Biryani.

Ingredients:

• Basmati Rice – 4 cups
• Oil – 4 tbsp
• Ghee – 5 tbsp
• Salt to taste

 Spices used for Biryani:

• Cashew nuts – 20
• Cinnamon sticks – 1
• Cloves – 2
• Cardamom pods cracked – 2
• Bay leaves – 4
• Fenugreek – 1 spoon
• Star shaped anise  – 2
• Javetri – 1
• shahijeera – 1 tbsp

 Other Ingredients:

• Chopped onions – 1 big onion
• Tomato – chopped (one big)
• Green chillies – 8 sliced/slit
• Coriander/cilantro leaves – ½ cup chopped
• Mint leaves – few chopped
• Ginger Garlic paste – 2 spoons
• Cauliflower  – 4 cups
• Water – 7 cups
• Garam masala powder – 1 tsp
• Chilli powder – 1 tbsp
• Corriander powder – 1 tbsp
• Cumin  powder – 1 tsbp
• Curry Masala powder – 2 tbsp
• Chaat Masala powder – 1 tbsp
• Yogurt – 1/2 cup
• Salt to taste

Before start making Cauliflower Biryani we need to prepare some ingredients:

Masala mix: Take the masalas and powders: Garam masala powder, Chilli powder, Corriander powder, Cumin  powder, Curry Masala powder, Chaat Masala powder, Salt, yogurt into the bowl and mix with spatula to make a masala mix.

Cauliflower: Divide the cauliflower into florets and wash them. Then cut of f the stem leaving top flower. Boil water in a bowl add a tbsp of salt and turmeric powder and drop the cauliflower florets in it. Leave it for exactly for 5 minutes. Strain the florets.

Biryani Rice: Soak the rice for one hour. You can use any type of rice.

Making Gravy with Masala mix: 

1. Heat oil in a wok or Biryani vessel, add slit chillies and chopped onions and fry till it turns into golden brown colour.
2. Add cashew nuts, chopped coriander and mint leaves and stir fry for 7 minutes.
3. Add chopped tomato and sprinkle some salt and let it cook for 7 minutes by placing a lid on the wok.
4. Add Ginger Garlic paste and sauté till all the raw smell has come out.
5. Add masala mix and and sauté the gravy for 5 minutes. Keep this aside.
6. In a separate wok, boil water and add cumin seeds, biryani spices, salt, 3 tbsp of ghee and rice to it.
7. Cook the rice till its almost done.
8. Switch off the flame and transfer the rice using a sieve to remove water.
9. Spread the rice on the masala gravy in Biryani vessel.
10. Repeat and add 3 layers of rice and masala gravy. Sprinkle some lemon juice on the top.
11. Add the final layer the left over rice. Once you transfer all the rice, then add some chopped cilantro leaves on to the top.
12. Sprinkle some ghee on top of it.
13. Seal tightly with a lid using foil or chapathi dough and cook the biryani for 5 minutes on a high flame and 10 minutes on a medium flame and another 10 minutes on low flame.
14. Switch off the flame and wait for another 10 minutes.
15. WoW….Cauliflower Biryani is ready 🙂
16. Mix the rice very gently with out breaking the rice or serve the rice from the sides in a way to serve all the layers in one plate.

Give it a try and let me know your feedback. Do you prepare any special biryani recipes? Share your recipes, tips and tricks in the comments below.