Mushroom biryani recipe with step by step photos. This is a spicy, tasty and easy one-pot mushroom biryani recipe from the Chettinad cuisine. This is the vegetarian version of popular Chettinad biryani made with mushrooms.
Mushrooms make a regular appearance in our meals and I make many recipes with them. Some time back I had made this mushroom biryani and thus also clicked pics. The taste of this biryani always reminds me of a biryani I had some years back whilst traveling in south India on a train journey.
I referred some cookbooks as well as videos and experimented & came up with this recipe. Apart from this recipe, there are few more ways you can make a mushroom biryani.
Few more mushroom biryani recipes are
- Mushroom dum biryani
- Ambur biryani (with mushrooms)
- South Indian mushroom biryani (spicy kalan biryani)
- Dindigul Biryani (with mushrooms)
- Pressure cooker mushroom biryani
To make this mushroom biryani, you will need some ingredients like coconut milk and curd/yogurt. Coconut milk can be made a day before or you can even use store bought coconut milk. You can skip the curd, but I would not suggest skipping coconut milk. Its an essential ingredient in this recipe. Though its best to use both of them.
The Chettinad biryani is spicy and thats the hallmark of Chettinad cuisine. if you cannot tolerate the heat and spice, then you can cut down on the number of green chilies. The preparation of this biryani takes some time as both mushrooms and rice are marinated. But the cooking is easy and one pot.
Unlike other Biryanis, This mushroom biryani is not layered and dum cooked, but a one pot recipe like I mentioned above. You can also make the biryani in a pressure cooker.
Usually seeraga samba rice is used while making most biryanis in South India. But you can also use basmati rice instead of seeraga samba rice. Since I do not get seeraga samba rice, I have used basmati rice.
Serve this Chettinad style mushroom biryani with onion tomato raita or even a side vegetable salad.
How to make mushroom biryani
Prepping rice
1. First rinse rice very well in water. Then soak the rice in water for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, drain the rice and add 1 tsp ghee to it.
3. Coat the rice with ghee very well and allow to marinate for 20 to 25 minutes. Instead of marinating, you can also saute the rice in ghee lightly.
Prepping veggies
4. When you keep the rice for soaking, prep the ingredients. First rinse or wipe dry and then quarter the mushrooms. Take the mushrooms in a mixing bowl.
5. Slice thinly 2 medium onions. Chop 1 medium to large tomato. Also chop 3 to 4 green chilies, 3 to 4 medium garlic cloves and ½ inch ginger. Also chop mint leaves and coriander leaves (cilantro leaves).
Preparing ground paste
6. In a small grinder or chutney grinder, take ¼ cup chopped mint leaves, ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves, chopped green chilies, garlic & ginger.
7. Add ½ tbsp water and grind to a smooth paste.
Marinating mushrooms
8. Add the ground paste along with 3 tbsp curd to the chopped mushrooms. Curd can be skipped in the recipe. Just marinate the mushrooms with the rest of the ingredients.
9. Add ¼ to ⅓ tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp red chilli powder, ½ tsp garam masala powder and 1 tsp coriander powder (ground coriander).
10. Gently mix all the ingredients with the mushrooms. Cover and keep aside to marinate for 30 to 40 minutes.
11. Take all the whole spices and keep aside. the spices in clockwise order are 1 tsp fennel seeds, 2 green cardamoms, 2 marathi moggu (optional), 1 medium to large tejpatta (Indian bay leaf), 6 to 7 black pepper, 1 inch cinnamon, 3 to 4 cloves, 1 small piece of stone flower (optional) and 2 single strands of mace.
Making mushroom biryani
12. Heat 2 to 2.5 tbsp oil in a thick bottomed pot or pan. Add the whole spices and saute them till they are fragrant.
13. Then add the sliced onions.
14. Stir very well and saute them on a low to medium flame. Add a pinch of salt for quick cooking of the onions.
15. Stir often and saute till the onions become golden.
16. Add the tomatoes.
17. Stir and saute the tomatoes for about 2 minutes.
18. Add the marinated mushrooms.
19. Stir very well and saute the mushrooms for 6 to 7 minutes.
20. In the bowl there will be some marinade left. Add 1 cup water and mix the marinade with the water. Add water as required depending on the quality of rice. You can add from ½ to 1 cup water. Since I used organic basmati rice, I added 1 cup water.
21. The mushrooms should shrink and you should see oil specks on top. Now add this water to the mushrooms.
22. Add 1 cup of thick coconut milk.
23. Stir well.
24. Season with salt.
25. Stir. Check the taste of the gravy/stock and it should taste a bit salty.
26. On a medium flame bring the mixture to a boil.
27. Then add the ghee coated rice. Mix gently.
Cooking mushroom biryani
28. Cover the pot or pan with a lid.
29. On sim or low flame cook the biryani till the rice grains are done. Check once or twice when rice is cooking. It took me 12 minutes for the rice to cook. Depending on the thickness and depth of the pan, quality of rice and flame intensity, it can take 10 to 12 minutes. Once the rice grains are cooked, cover and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving mushroom biryani. Then gently fluff the rice with a fork.
30. Garnish with mint or coriander leaves and Serve mushroom biryani with a side salad or raita.
More rice recipes
Mushroom Biryani
Ingredients
for marinating rice
- 1 cup heaped basmati rice or seeraga samba rice
- 1 teaspoon ghee for marinating rice
for ground paste
- ¼ cup chopped mint leaves
- ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro leaves)
- 3 to 4 green chilies
- 3 to 4 medium garlic cloves
- ½ inch ginger
- ½ tablespoon water
for marinating mushrooms
- 200 to 250 grams white button mushrooms quartered
- 3 tablespoon fresh curd (yogurt)
- ¼ to 1/3 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder (ground coriander)
other ingredients
- 2 to 2.5 tablespoon oil
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2 green cardamoms
- 3 to 4 cloves
- 6 to 7 black pepper
- 1 medium to large tejpatta (indian bay leaf)
- 2 single strands of mace
- 1 small piece of stone flower (dagad phool or pathar phool) - optional
- 2 marathi moggu (optional)
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2 medium onions or 100 grams onions - thinly sliced
- 1 medium to large tomato or 80 grams tomatoes - chopped
- ½ to 1 cup water or add as required
- 1 cup thick coconut milk
- some chopped coriander leaves or mint leaves for garnish
- salt as required
Instructions
prepping and marinating rice
- First rinse rice very well in water. Then soak the rice in water for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, drain the rice and add 1 tsp ghee to it.
- Coat the rice with ghee very well and allow to marinate for 20 to 25 minutes. Instead of marinating, you can also saute the rice in ghee lightly.
prepping veggies
- When you keep the rice for soaking, prep the ingredients. First rinse or wipe dry and then quarter the mushrooms. Take the mushroom in a mixing bowl.
- Slice thinly 2 medium onions. Chop 1 medium to large tomato. Also chop 3 to 4 green chilies, 3 to 4 medium garlic cloves and 1/2 inch ginger. Also chop mint and coriander leaves.
preparing the ground paste
- In a small grinder or chutney grinder, take 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves, 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves and the chopped green chilies, garlic & ginger.
- Add 1/2 tbsp water and grind to a smooth paste.
marinating mushrooms
- Add the ground paste along with 3 tbsp curd to the chopped mushrooms.
- Add 1/4 to 1/3 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder and 1 tsp coriander powder.
- Gently mix all the ingredients with the mushrooms. Cover and keep aside to marinate for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Take all the whole spices and keep aside.
making mushroom biryani
- Heat 2 to 2.5 tbsp oil in a thick bottomed pot or pan. Add the whole spices and saute them till they are fragrant.
- Then add the sliced onions. Stir very well and saute them on a low to medium flame. Add a pinch of salt for quick cooking of the onions.
- Stir often and saute till the onions become golden.
- Then add tomatoes. Stir and saute the tomatoes for about 2 minutes.
- Add the marinated mushrooms. Stir very well and saute the mushrooms for 6 to 7 minutes or till they shrink and you see oil specks on top.
- In the bowl there will be some marinade left. Add 1 cup water and mix the marinade with the water.
- Add water as required depending on quality of rice. You can add from 1/2 to 1 cup water. Since I used organic basmati rice, I added 1 cup water.
- Add this water to the mushrooms. then add 1 cup thick coconut milk. Stir well.
- Season with salt and stir. on a medium flame bring the mixture to a boil.
- Then add the ghee coated rice. Stir well.
cooking mushroom biryani
- Cover the pot or pan with a lid. Check once or twice when rice is cooking.
- On sim or low flame cook the biryani till the rice grains are done.
- It took me 12 minutes for the rice to cook. Depending on the thickness and depth of pan, quality of rice and flame intensity, it can take 10 to 12 minutes.
- Once the rice grains are cooked, cover and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving mushroom biryani. Then gently fluff the rice with a fork.
- Garnish with mint or coriander leaves and serve mushroom biryani with a side salad or raita.
Dear Dassana,
Namaste.
I absolutely love this wonderful recipe. Thank you so very much for sharing it with the world. I have cooked two recipes (mushrooms biryani and Tawa pulao) for these two days both recipes are delicious!! I will keep cooking using your website cuisines recipes. I use as a side my home made whole milk cottage cheese (curd). It tastes so good along with your recipes.
God bless you.
namaste maria, firstly thanks for this lovely comment. sure and do let me know how the recipe turn out for you, whenever you get time. a side of cottage cheese goes well with most rice-based dishes. thanks for the rating too and your kind wishes.
Hi Dassana,
Thanks for all the wonderful & simple recipes that you’ve put in the blog. Your blog has become one stop destination for me for all cooking questions & recipes. I started making biryani, sweets etc by following your blog and the feeling of feeding the family with home made recipes is wonderful. Thanks for making it happen.
thanks for this lovely comment nagamani. felt good reading it. i agree it does feel good to feed the family with home cooked food.
most welcome and happy cooking.
Hi Dassana,
I made this mushroom biryani and it turned out amazing. Thanks for this wonderful recipe and very clear step by step instructions.
-Meera
thanks meera for the feedback and rating on mushroom biryani. happy cooking.
i just followed the recipe, Mushroom Briyani came really very good and tasty. Thanks for the recipe!!!
thanks mano for the review and feedback on chettinad mushroom biryani recipe. happy cooking.
Hi Dassana,
Just wanted to say that I’ve learnt most of the things I know about cooking from this website. I’ve been cooking something from here nearly twice a week for three years now. You’ve never failed me! Many thanks for being awesome. <3
Welcome Megha and thanks a lot for this positive feedback. Glad to know that I could help you in your cooking journey.
wow..!! its came nice..!! <3 <3 thanks to the website..!!
Welcome Ilakya
Hi! I wanted to say that I looovvee pretty much all the recipes of yours that I have tried and your blog is my go to blog for everything from comfort quick dinner ideas to festive delicacies! I loved your Chettinad Biryani recipe. Just made it for a potluck party with my German friends. It came out amazing! I have a question though, what is the logic of marinating uncooked rice with ghee? Does it really have any affect? Thanks!
thanks a lot manasa. nice to know. ghee coats the rice grains well and do not allow them to be sticky when getting cooked. also gives a good aroma.
Nice and easy recipe
I have a question though. If I don’t want to add mushrooms, what can I substitute them with?
Neha Y, You can use mix veggies.
Lovely recipe. Turned out nice
Thanks Blessy
thank you for your recipes
Welcome Pallavi
I got addicted to your website…… What more can I say, the first point of reference to me and also as a recommendation to my friends /family…
I have tried many of your recipes and all have turned out to be good ones…
The best thing I like about your website is STEPWISE PICS … They are very helpful
Keep exploring 🙂
Thanks Kalyani for this awesome feedback. Glad to know that you like the recipe and their presentation.
I made this today and it was absolutely delicious. The coconut milk makes the biriyani rich and I feel it is one of the main ingredients to complete this dish. Thankyou for sharing such a wonderful recipe.
Welcome Trisha. Thanks for sharing your positive feedback and the inputs.
hi dassanna, I’m glad to try out your recipes which outcomes vast varieties and delicious food and serve to my family, accordingly all my family members are turned out to be your Fan’s. Thanks for all your efforts.
welcome sowmyavenkatesh. thanks for your kind words. i felt good reading your comment.
I followed u …..Mushroom chettinad was too good actually I can say..no need of nonveg……and also I cooked kadhai mushroom…..n neer dosa…..most of d time I follow u…….and all d recepies r come out superb…..thank u Dasana……..best wishes for u always……
thanks rinky for the positive reviews on the recipes. also thanks for your wishes. happy cooking.
Amazing recipe. I tried it and it came out superb. Thanks
welcome and thanks for positive views.
I just made this recipe replacing mushrooms with veggies… and it came out fabulously. thank you dassana 🙂
welcome always aparna, thanks for positive views.
Looking forward to cooking tomorrow! Thanks to you, I now have my meals planned at least a day in advance. I shall let you know how it goes. 🙂
Also, just felt like letting you know that I’m going to make your masala chai right now!
thankyou so much lorraine do let us know how your chai was?
My chai was perfect !! Thank you 🙂
welcome and thankyou lorraine.
About a month ago (that’s when I found your blog), I’d never thought I’d be able to make a dish like this. My family and I loved the biryani. The flavour was amazing. Thank you so much!
pleased to know this lorraine thankyou for your positive feedback 🙂
About a month ago (that’s when I found your blog), I’d never have thought I’d be able to make a dish like this! My family and I loved the biryani. There flavours were amazing. Thank you so much!
welcome and thankyou so much lorraine 🙂
Thank you for your recipes. I’ve used many of them for making delicious food. This particular recipe is one of the many brilliant ones. The instructions are clear as can be and every point categorised to make cooking a pleasure. Thank you for this excellent recipe collection and for spending efforts to put it together. Is there a way to make donations to this website? For all your hardwork i think people will be willing to donate much like we do to Wikipedia.
Welcome SRINIVAS. Thanks a lot for sharing this awesome feedback as well as for this sweet gesture. Right now, the website is self sufficient because of Ads. So ethically its not right for us to accept donation. On our behalf you can donate to someone who is needy. We often get such request but we always suggest the same. Readers love, support and encouragement is more than enough and we are grateful to our readers for their blessings and support. Thanks once again to you and readers like you.
Hii!! I liked the recipe very much. one thing I want to ask is can I add mixed veggies along with mushrooms….?
thanks anurakta. yes you can add mixed veggies.
Tired this recipe. Result good.Thank you.
welcome always arul 🙂
Thank you very much Dassana , your recepies are superb. I have tried quite a few and every time they turned out to be good . Family loves them ,lifesavers when guests come over .
pleased to know this jyothi 🙂 and glad to know you liked the recipe. surely try more and do share your views and thankyou.
Thank you very much Dassana for the detailed steps and pics. I tried out this recipe. My daughter and mother loved it. I have also tried out your veg fried rice, gobi manchurian, mushroom manchurian, malai kofta, gobi masala and paneer lababdar recipes. They were all received well. So now I look for all veg recipes in your site only!
glad to know you have tried so many recipes from our food blog 🙂 thankyou for trying them and for your kind words.
Hi..its v nice recipe. I just wanted to ask whether we can replace paneer in this.
I mean replace mushroom with paneer and if not wat else can be used?
yes you can. but for paneer, you will have to pan fry it first and then add once the biryani is cooked. mix the paneer with the biryani lightly. you can also use mixed veggies (carrots, beans, peas, cauliflower, broccoli and potatoes) or aubergines instead of mushrooms.
Soooooo nice lovely
Is stone flower the same thing as Black stone flower? Is this something i find fresh or dried at Indian market? Also you have listed both mint and cilantro but end instructions call for one or the other? Do you use both? When using store bought yogurt do I want a thick style greek yogurt? If I source yogurt at an Indian store what am i asking for, is there a specific name/type
yes it black stone flower. these are dried. they are not sold fresh. for garnish, you can use either mint or cilantro. for the green ground paste, both are added. you can use greek yogurt instead of fresh curd that is added in the recipe. at the indian stores, just tell them curd or ‘dahi’ and they will be able to help you.
odd, i asked at my indian market and they had no idea what stone flower was… pretty good size market to, did not see in spice isle. thanks for the response!
they may not know 🙂 as stone flower is basically used in the western and south indian states of india, typically in maharashtra and tamil nadu. in fact even some folks living in the northern parts of india, won’t know about stone flower. i think you can try amazon or some indian spice store online. they may have it.
Loved it! The best Biryani recipe i have ever made. Thanks Dasanna 🙂
Thanks for the awesome feedback Sindhu.
One of the best Biryani’s i have had in my life 🙂 Thank you Dassana
Just one friendly note that you increase the preparation time. I took atleast 30 mins more than what is on the website.
I will update. Will check the pics and update the time.
I tried this recipe today. It turned out to be amazing. One of the best dishes I have ever tried making. Thank you dassana. Your blog is such a saviour. I can’t thank you enough for your wonderful recipes. Lots of love and good wishes to you! 🙂
thank you nandita for this great feedback and also your kind wishes 🙂
looks very rich and tasty..
Hi Dassna I have to say that your recipes are a hit with all of my family members. I introduced it to my parents and sister some time back and it has become all of ours go to reference for recipes. Paneer, chole and what not with a distinctly different taste everytime!! Thanks for this lovely website.
Also can the coconut milk be substituted with something else? I know it will alter the taste completely but coconut milk is not handy at our home.
thanks a lot. also thanks for sharing the website with your parents and sister. you can skip coconut milk. while researching i do came across recipes that do not use coconut milk. only water is added. what i felt was coconut milk subdues the fieriness of the dish to some extent. it kind of balances the spiciness. with coconut milk the taste is different, then when made with water. since you do not get coconut milk, just skip it. you can add overall 1.5 to 2 cups of water depending on the rice you will be using.
Beautiful receipe dassana. Will try shortly and send you the pics
thanks pooja 🙂
I don’t eat mushrooms wht can i add in place of it..thnk u
riya, you can add mix chopped vegetables that we add in pulao or biryani. about 1.5 cup chopped veggies will be fine. you can also make with only brinjal/baingan.
Very scientific in your instruction Dassana. Better than TV chefs and Utube presenters. I do not have clue what a stone flower is nor marathi moggu. What is its Tamil name .
You will make very good instructor. Best of luck for sharing you hard earned knowledge.
Thanks Dr C P Thiagarajah for your kind words. Stone flower is also called as biryani flower. i don’t know the tamil name.