Biryani Rice Recipe

Biryani Rice or Biryani Chawal is a fragrant, mildly spiced rice dish that goes well with any rich vegetarian curry or dal. But don’t get it confused with a proper Vegetable Biryani, as this is just a flavorful rice sans any veggies served with raita or curries. This North Indian style Biryani Rice recipe is vegan (when made with oil) as well as gluten-free. It has been a favorite of mine since a long time and I’m sure after trying, its going to be the same with you.

What is Biryani Rice

Biryani Rice is basically a spiced rice, that is, basmati rice cooked with choicest of spices and finished with some fried onions, nuts and fresh herbs. However, there are many variations of this biryani chawal recipe.

In the Southern parts of India, a similar dish called as Kuska Rice is popular. The vegetarian version is made with or without the addition of coconut milk or yogurt (curd). This one is flavored with fragrant spices, herbs and ghee.

In addition to this, we also have the famous Jeera Rice that is loved by one and all. The difference is that the jeera rice has flavors of cumin seeds together with other spices.

On the contrary the rice grains in Biryani Rice recipe are just cooked or steamed with the aromatic spices (minus the cumin seeds) and some herbs.

About My Recipe

I remember Biryani Rice often being ordered by my parents when we would go out for dinners or parcel food for home. It was one rice dish that was always preferred.

My parents would have the rice with some chicken curry and I would have the biryani chawal with palak paneer or dal makhani, with some lemon squeezed on top. This was always my favorite combination.

After trying biryani rice at various places, I have developed a really good home version of the Biryani Rice recipe. I share a North Indian version of this rice preparation.

I like accentuating textures in my recipes. So, I garnish this Biryani Rice with fried onions and cashews. A slight sweet hint from the onions and crunch from the cashews makes it all the more flavorsome.

To bring in a unique color and aroma, I also add some saffron strands to the Biryani Chawal. You can use artificial yellow or orange food color as well, but I would always recommend the use of natural coloring ingredients.

This Biryani Rice is best served with any vegetarian curry like paneer butter masala, shahi paneer, malai kofta, baingan masala, bagara baingan, etc., or a homely dal tadka or dal fry.

Another way to go about serving this rice dish is with boondi raita, onion raita or a fresh kachumber to make it into a wholesome meal ‘fit for a king!’ For the best experience, make sure to end this meal with a lovely Indian dessert like gulab jamun, kulfi or falooda.

How to make Biryani Rice

Prep Rice

In the stepwise guide below, I cover making the biryani rice recipe in a stovetop pressure cooker.

Note that I have covered both the Instant Pot method and cooking the recipe in a pan on the stovetop in the notes section of the recipe card below.

1. Rinse 1 cup basmati rice for a couple of times in water, till the water runs clear of starch. Soak the basmati rice in water for 20 to 30 minutes. Later drain and keep aside.

Fry Spices and Herbs

2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil (or ghee) in a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker or a thick bottomed pan. Add the following listed spices and fry them till they splutter and become fragrant:

• ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (shahi jeera) – swap with ½ teaspoon cumin seeds instead
• 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
• 3 to 4 cloves
• 4 to 5 black peppercorns
• 1 small star anise – optional
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 3 to 4 green cardamoms
• 2 to 3 single strands of mace

Use any neutral flavored oil.

3. Now add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste, 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) and 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves.

4. Stir and sauté for a few seconds until the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.

Add Rice

5. Add the soaked basmati rice and 18 to 20 saffron strands.

6. Stir gently and sauté for a minute.

7. Add 1.5 to 1.75 cups of water or as required. For cooking in a pan, consider adding 1.75 to 2 cups of water.

8. Stir and mix well.

9. Season with salt as per taste.

10. Squeeze 5 to 6 drops of lemon juice. Stir again.

Cook Biryani Rice

11. Cover the pressure cooker tightly with its lid and pressure cook on medium to high heat for 1 to 2 whistles or for 6 to 7 minutes.

Depending on the size of the cooker, the time will vary. Thus for a 2 litre cooker, the cooking time will vary from 8 to 10 minutes. For a 3 litre cooker, it can take about 6 to 7 minutes for the rice grains to cook.

If cooking in a pan, cover tightly with a lid and simmer or medium-low or medium heat until all the water is absorbed and the rice grains have become fluffy and tender.

The rice grains should be cooked perfectly and yet remain separate. They should not become soft or mushy.

While cooking in a pan, you can check in between and stir gently if needed. if you feel the water is less, then simply add in required amount of hot water.

12. When the pressure falls naturally in the cooker, then only open the lid and gently fluff the cooked rice grains.

Make Garnish

13. While the rice is cooking, prepare the garnish. This is optional. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small frying pan or skillet and add ⅓ cup thinly sliced onions.

14. Stir well and sauté on a low to medium heat stirring often. Add a pinch of salt so that the onions brown quickly.

15. Sauté till the onions turn golden.

16. Remove and drain them on a kitchen paper towel so that the extra oil is soaked.

17. In the same pan, add 10 to 12 cashews.

18. Sauté the cashews till golden.

19. Remove the golden cashews and place them on a kitchen paper towel.

20. During serving, garnish the Biryani Rice with fried onions, cashews and chopped mint leaves or coriander leaves. Serve with raita, any curry or a dal (lentil based dish).

Expert Tips

1. Make sure to use good quality aged basmati rice for this biryani rice recipe. It can also be made with parboiled basmati rice (sella basmati). When using this, make sure to soak it for 1 hour and add more water while cooking.
2. While cooking the rice, you can add less or more water depending on the variety and age of the rice.
3. The time to cook the rice varies depending on the size of the cooker. For a 2-liter cooker, it takes about 8 to 10 minutes. For a 3-liter cooker, it takes about 6 to 7 minutes.
4. You can omit using caraway seeds and star anise. In place of caraway seeds, you can use cumin seeds. To make it a richer version, you can also add almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, etc.
5. You can add turmeric powder in place of saffron to get a yellow colour. But this will not impart the aroma or flavor as that of saffron. You can also add rose water and kewra water (pandanus water) for more aroma.
6. To cook the rice in a pan, cover the pan tightly with a lid after adding water, salt and lemon juice. Let the rice grains cook and soften on a medium-low to medium heat. They should be tender and yet look like separate grains. They should not look soft or mushy. Keep checking in between while the rice grains are cooking, and stir gently if required. If in case the water looks less in the pan, add hot water as needed to the rice.
7. My recipe is a vegan one as I have used oil to make the biryani chawal. If you prefer you can use ghee instead of oil.

FAQs

This Biryani Rice recipe post from the archives first published in May 2013 has been republished and updated on April 2022.