Palak Biryani | Spinach Biryani
This Palak biryani or spinach biryani is an easy biryani variety made in one pot. Spinach which is the star ingredient blends harmoniously with the aromatics, herbs, and spices in this recipe. Pair this healthy green biryani with raita or salad or pickle for a comforting lunch or dinner.
Usually making biryani is a very elaborate and time-consuming task. Although it is worth the time but many times we don’t have so much time and we look for easy solutions for our meals.
If someday you want to try authentic veg biryani then I suggest you to check this detailed recipe of Hyderabadi Veg Biryani.
Coming back to this simple spinach biryani – this is a one-pot biryani that is very easy to make. You can use both fresh as well as frozen spinach in the recipe. For frozen spinach thaw first and then squeeze all the water before using it.
I won’t suggest adding any other greens like fenugreek as it will alter the taste. You can make this biryani more healthy by adding vegetables like potatoes, green peas, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.
If you have spinach and want an easy as well as a satisfying meal, then do make this green palak biryani. Two more recipes you can make with rice and spinach combo are:
Pair the palak biryani with a boondi raita or just kachumber (side salad), pickle and papad and you have one complete meal. You can also have the biryani with some plain yogurt.
There are no layers in this method and you don’t have to cook two or three things separately. The spinach is pureed and then cooked with the onion, tomatoes, spices along with the rice. Easy and a quick biryani recipe, unlike the regular biryani variety.
I have also added almonds in the spinach puree just to give a creamy and smooth touch. The spinach blends very well with the aroma and flavors of the other ingredients resulting in a delicious biryani.
I have slightly overcooked the rice as I ended up adding more than 4 cups of water. If you use 3.5 or 4 cups of water (depending on the quality of rice), you will get separate grains of rice. Just make sure that you cover the pan tightly with the lid while cooking the rice.
How to make Palak Biryani
1. Rinse palak (spinach leaves) very well in water. Then drain the water thoroughly.
TIP: Preferably use only the leaves. If the stems are tender you can include them. But if the stems are stringy or tough then do not use them.
2. Measure, rinse and chop 1 medium bunch of spinach leaves, 1 to 2 green chilies, ½ cup mint leaves, ½ cup coriander leaves and 5 to 6 almonds.
3. In a blender, add the chopped spinach leaves, mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chilies and almonds.
TIP: Instead of almonds you can also use cashews. Almonds bring a bit of creaminess and richness to the dish. If you are not a fan of nuts then skip them altogether.
4. Add ½ cup water and blend to a smooth puree. There should be no fine chunks of almonds.
5. First rinse and then soak the rice for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain all the water from the rice after 20 to 30 minutes and set aside.
TIP: Preferably use basmati rice or any long grain rice. For biryani and pulao I always prefer to use aged basmati rice as they give the best taste and texture.
6. Keep all the spice powders, whole spices and ginger-garlic paste ready for making spinach biryani.
Making palak biryani
7. Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons oil or ghee in a thick bottom and deep pan or pot. Then add the following ingredients:
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 1 small star anise (chakriphool)
- 2 green cardamoms
- 1 to 2 black cardamoms
- 2 to 3 cloves
- 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
- 1 pinch mace
8. Fry for some seconds on a low heat or till the oil gets fragrant. Take care not to burn the spices.
9. Add 1 large sized sliced onion.
10. Saute stirring often on low to medium-low heat till they are browned or caramelized. Make sure not to burn the onions.
Set aside a few caramelized onions for garnishing.
11. Add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste and stir well.
12. Add 1 pinch of hing (asafoetida). Adding asafoetida is optional.
13. Saute for few seconds or till the raw aroma of ginger and garlic goes away.
14. Now add 1 medium-sized chopped tomato.
15. Saute the tomatoes stirring often for 2 to 3 minutes or till they soften.
16. Keep on stirring so that the ingredients do not stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the spinach puree and mix thoroughly.
17. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes on low to medium-low heat.
18. Now add the following spices one by one and mix well:
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon fennel powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
19. Then add salt as required.
20. Stir and mix again.
21. Add the soaked rice.
22. Mix well and saute for 1 to 2 minutes on a low heat.
23. Pour 3.5 or 4 cups of water. The amount of water that you can add depends upon the age, quality and type of rice. You can add less or more water as required.
24. Check the taste of the broth and if required add some more salt as required. The taste should be slightly salty.
25. Cover tightly with a lid and cook till the water is absorbed and the rice is tender and fluffy.
26. Gently fluff the rice.
Serve Palak biryani hot or warm garnished with the fried onions and fried cashews with a side vegetable curry, raita, yogurt curry or some salad.
You can also garnish with herbs like coriander (cilantro) or mint leaves.
It will go well with most raita varieties like boondi raita or cucumber raita or onion raita or even with plain yogurt (curd).
Few more tasty biryani varieties
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice – soaked for 30 minutes
- 1 onion (large) – thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste
- 1 tomato (medium-sized) – chopped
- 3.5 to 4 cups water or as required
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 12 to 15 fried cashews (optional), for garnish
- salt as required
Whole spices
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 1 star anise (small-sized) – optional
- 2 green cardamoms
- 1 or 2 black cardamoms
- 2 to 3 cloves
- 1 tej patta (medium-sized)
- 1 to 2 strands mace
Ground spice powders
- ¼ teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Garam Masala
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon fennel powder (ground fennel)
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) – optional
For making palak puree
- 1 medium bunch of spinach
- ½ cup mint leaves
- ½ cup coriander leaves
- 1 or 2 green chilies
- 5 to 6 almonds
Instructions
Making palak puree
- Rinse the palak (spinach leaves) very well in water.
- Chop and keep aside. Rinse and chop the green chilies, mint leaves and coriander leaves
- In a blender, add the chopped spinach leaves, mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chili and almonds.
- Add ½ cup water and blend to a smooth paste.
Sautéing onions
- First rinse and then soak the rice. When the rice is soaking, prepare the spinach puree as mentioned above.
- Heat oil in a thick bottom and deep pan or pot. Add all the whole spices.
- Fry for some seconds or till the oil gets fragrant.
- Add the sliced onions and fry till they are browned stirring often. Remove some of the fried onions for garnishing.
- Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for some seconds. Now add hing and saute for few seconds.
Sautéing tomatoes and spinach puree
- Add the chopped tomatoes and sauté till the tomatoes becomes soft for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Keep on stirring so that the ingredients do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the spinach puree and stir. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Now all the dry spice powders one by one and stir.
- Add salt as required. Drain the soaked rice and add. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour 3.5 or 4 cups water.
- Check the taste of the broth and if required add some more salt.
Cooking palak biryani
- Cover tightly with a lid and cook till the water is absorbed and the rice is tender and fluffy. Fluff the rice.
- Serve palak biryani hot or warm garnished with the fried onions and fried cashews with a side vegetable curry, raita, yogurt curry or some salad.
- You can also garnish with herbs like coriander (cilantro) or mint leaves.
Nutrition
This Palak Biryani post from the blog archives first published in May 2013 has been republished and updated on 18 January 2022.
Big hit with my friends and family! Your website has helped me so much. I added some raisins since I love them in rice. Thank you for the delicious recipes. Namaste from USA
namaste cheyenne. thanks for the feedback on palak biryani and other recipes. raisins can be added in most rice dishes and they taste good too. welcome and happy cooking.
Hi Dassanna,
What is the approximate weight of the bunch of spinach you use? I’m in the USA and get spinach in bags.
Thanks
Michelle
michelle, the weight of one bunch spinach in india will be approx 200 to 250 grams. hope this helps.
Amazing recipe. Came out perfect. Healthy and tasty. Please try out this recipe everyone, you won’t regret it 🙂
thank you jaya for this lovely feedback and rating. happy cooking.
I tried palak briyani yesterday for lunch .Came out verry well . Very tasty and aromatic .
Thank you .
Welcome Annapoorni. Thanks for sharing positive feedback on palak biryani recipe.
This recipe is a bomb. Delicious and hit with the family!
Thanks Komal
Thanks so much for this recipe. My guests n family loved it….
Welcome Jayashree
Amazing tasty reciepes
Delicious dish, thanks a lot for the recipe. Not eating too much meat and have always loved Indian cuisine, your blog really helps me making nice veggie food!
thank you.
I must say….all your receipes are very easy to make and taste awesome…have tried spinach biryani and it tastes yummmm…
thanks indu for sharing positive feedback on spinach biryani and other recipes.
It’s really useful at the same time recipes are very delicious
thankyou so much rekha 🙂
Great receipe! Thanks for sharing!
welcome athira 🙂
A very Healthy and tasty recipe indeed….thank u dasanna
welcome kajal and thankyou 🙂
Hey Dassana,
I should say you are a life saver for people like me who are new to cooking and have none to guide.
Thanks..your blog not only promises tasty food but informative cooking lessons too.
Regards
thank you very much dia.
I love to hv Palak biryani again nd again.
surely eat palak is healthy 🙂
Hi I made this dish nd it’s very simple nd easy recipe thanks for sharing this recipe.
thankyou shailaja 🙂
Hello! I made this dish and it was so easy and quick. The results were amazing! One of my favorite biryanis and would love to have it again and again.
Thanks for such a great recipe!
thanks for this positive feedback anand.
hi… It was easy to understand n prepare… The taste was absolutely wow. Thank u
welcome aarti
nice
Hi Dassana, If i wanna make something special for family, its always your recepies that i try and its always a great success…thank you so much for sharing the awesome receipes
Prithy
welcome prithy. glad to know this.
Great recipe! Thank you very much. I just made it and my husband and I enjoyed it completely. I slightly varied it used self-made Ras el hanout (because I was too lazy to prepare fresh Garam masala) and sweet peppers with some dried Jalapeno (because I realized too late that I am out of fresh chillies) – but it still worked out really delicious.
I am a huge fan of Indian cuisine and similar meal (called “birjan” there) is also very popular in the country I am coming from, but it is made more plain (without many ingredients) – and in the oven!
I loved it in my childhood and I just wanted to tell you that I love your recipe much more!
thanks irina for your sincere and honest feedback. i have heard of birjan, but never tried. inspite of the few variations you added, its good to know that the biryani came out good. do try some more indian recipes as well. happy cooking 🙂
nice recipe ..it is yummy ..we enjoyed …thanks
welcome rathna
The above recipe made with spinach biryani is awesome, however I’m hoping you can help me with another enquiry. I remember when I was young we used to be served an Indian snack and am hoping if I describe it you can tell me how to make it. I think that the insert or filling was made from either spinach or banana leaves or something green, am not too sure. It was always delivered in a tunnel form or log type style and this was cut into slices (discs) and placed between two round discs of Paratha. My mum called it “puri-Partha” and is definitely not the ones shown when googled. So from the side it looked like dough, the green filling and dough again. We always squeezed lemon onto the green part as this enhanced the flavour. Please bear with me and try to find this recipe as I would really like to make it. Cheers Sharon
thanks sharon. i think you are talking about alu vadi. it is a steamed log like roll made with colocasia leaves and also made with spinach leaves. i have shared the recipe and you can search for it on the blog.
I make today its very nice
thanks sonia
Awesome recipe. ..this was a hit at my home….thank you 🙂
welcome lilian
Finger licking good! have made it several times and got lovely compliments every time. I did not change a thing.. It was beautiful as it is. Thank you.
welcome jess.
Delicious and easy!! Have never made/eaten this before so was excited to try it. Added one chopped potato and abt 1 tsp of biryani pulav masala for more flavor and did it in the pressure cooker for one whistle on medium high. Turned out great! Filling and perfect for a cold day with raita and achar on the side! Thanks for sharing! Will definitely be making this again!
welcome tara. thanks for sharing your inputs.
The biriyani was delicious but it was stuck a little to the bottom of the pan and kind of lumped together even though I used 31/2 cups water. Any suggestions ? I used about
1 1/2 cups of puréed spinach. Not sure if that made it like that.
Thanks
in the recipe i have used 4.5 cups water. since you say the rice had got lumped, it means the rice got overcooked and hence also got stuck. in fact you have used a total of 5 cups of liquid which is a bit extra. it also depends on the pan size & type and the heat source. for 2 cups of soaked rice 4 cups of water is fine to get separate grains. also the pan should be tightly covered so that no steam passes out.
Hi Dassana
Ive made this reciepe a few times and it turns out delicious after I adjusted the water. Can you tell me if I wanted to make this for 20 people should I just add all the ingredients 5 times or will I need less.
Thanks
no. for 20 people the ingredients will be have to adjusted. they cannot be proportionally increased. you will have to eye ball the ingredients when making on a large scale.
I made this today- very easy to prepare, tasty and nutritious.. Thanks!
welcome teratoma
good recipe
Hi Dassana,
Thanks for sharing this recipe. This is really easy. I made it 3 times in one month. It was a hit. Some of my friends are asking to send this recipe.
thanks for the feedback and glad to know. you can share the recipe with your friends.
hi..dassana..i made this biryani and relished it all by myslf..i had to make another batch for my hubby..too yummy..but the color was not exactly the same as urs
hi suhani
thanks for the positive feedback.
the color changes… depends upon the pan you use or spinach variety.
if you want to preserve the nice green color then you blanch the spinach in 2-3 minutes in hot water. remove them and add them to ice cold water and then you blend and grind with remaining ingredients.
Thanks for the suggestion..i will do it this way next time..
V.nice recipe..looks yumm
This is brilliant!!!!
Very healthy biryani