If you’ve never added apple to a savory meal, we recommend you try it out, pronto. Apple can add a delicious sweetness to many recipes, including dahls, tofu bowls, and stuffing. The below recipe shows you how to make vegan apple biryani.
As well as apple, this vegan biryani features a range of vegetables – including sweetcorn, red onions, carrots, peas, and tomatoes.
Biryani is a savory, aromatic rice dish that originates from India and is popular in South Asian cuisine. While many traditional biryani recipes are made from meat, the below recipe uses all vegan ingredients alongside cardamon pods, curry powder, lemon juice, cloves, coriander, and a bay leaf.
Ingredients
- 400 g basmati rice
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cloves
- 4 cardamom pods
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 red onion, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp ginger puree
- 1 tbsp garlic puree
- 1 plum tomato, finely chopped
- 25 g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 Jazz apples, cored and cut into 8
- 100 g garden peas
- 100 g sweetcorn
- 600 ml vegetable stock
- 1 lemon, juice only
Instructions
- Rinse the rice and soak in cold water for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat coconut oil in a large pot over medium until it melts. Add the bay leaf, cloves, and cardamom and fry for around 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add onion and fry, stirring often, until they start to caramelise slightly.
- Add ginger and garlic and continue frying for around 30 seconds until the raw smell dissipates. Add curry powder and stir for 30 seconds to toast (don’t let the curry powder burn).
- Add the tomato and coriander. Reduce heat and cook for another minute or two until the tomato begins to break down.
- Add the carrot and apple. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until the carrots and apple begin to soften.
- Drain the rice and add to the pot, along with the lemon juice, peas and sweetcorn. Stir until everything is evenly mixed. Add the vegetable stock and stir. Cover bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for20 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the pan to stand for 15 minutes before removing the lid. Fluff up the rice and serve.