Chettinad Biryani Recipe (Vegetarian)

chettinad biryani on a blue rimmed white plate.

4.95 from 38 votes

Chettinad Biryani Recipe (Vegetarian)

This Chettinad Biryani recipe is a spicy, flavorful, vegetarian one made with fragrant basmati rice, fresh button mushrooms, flavorful spices, tangy yogurt and creamy coconut milk. The recipe requires only one pot and is made in less than forty five minutes!

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chettinad, South Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 556kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

Marinating rice

1 cup (200 grams) basmati rice (heaped) - or use seeraga samba or kaima rice
1 teaspoon Ghee - for marinating rice

Green masala

¼ cup mint leaves - chopped
¼ cup coriander leaves - chopped (cilantro)
3 to 4 green chilies
3 to 4 garlic cloves - small to medium-sized, peeled
1 inch ginger - peeled
½ to 1 tablespoon water

Marinating mushrooms

200 to 250 grams white button mushrooms - quartered or sliced
3 tablespoons Curd (yogurt)
¼ to ⅓ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
½ teaspoon Red Chilli Powder or cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon Garam Masala
1 teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)

Other ingredients

2 to 2.5 tablespoons oil - any neutral tasting oil or coconut oil
1 inch cinnamon
2 green cardamoms
3 to 4 cloves
6 to 7 black peppercorns
1 tej patta - medium to large-sized (Indian bay leaf)
2 thin single strands of mace - optional
1 stone flower - tiny piece, (dagad phool or pathar phool) - optional
2 kapok buds (marathi moggu) - optional
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
¾ to 1 cup (100 grams) onions - thinly sliced
½ cup (80 grams) tomatoes - chopped
½ to 1 cup water or add as required
1 cup Coconut Milk - thick, can use lite coconut milk
salt as required

Garnish

2 to 3 tablespoons coriander leaves - chopped or 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Soaking Rice

First rinse rice very well in water for a couple of times. Then soak the rice in water for 20 to 30 minutes.
After 20 to 30 minutes, drain the water from the rice grains. Add 1 teaspoon ghee to the soaked rice.
Mix and coat the rice with ghee very well and allow to marinate for 10 to 15 minutes. Instead of marinating, you can also sauté the rice in ghee lightly in a pan on low heat.

Preparing Veggies

When you keep the rice for soaking, prep the remaining ingredients. First rinse or wipe dry and then quarter or slice the mushrooms. Transfer them to a mixing bowl and set aside.
Slice thinly the onions. Chop the tomato. Also chop the green chilies, garlic cloves and ginger. Chop mint and coriander leaves as well.

Making Green Paste

In a small grinder or chutney grinder, take the chopped mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chilies, garlic and ginger.
Add ½ to 1 tablespoon water or as required. Blend to a smooth paste.

Marinating With Green Paste

Add this ground green paste with the curd to the chopped mushrooms.
Sprinkle turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and coriander powder.
Gently mix all the ingredients. Cover and set aside to marinate for 20 to 30 minutes.

Sautéing Aromatics

Heat 2 to 2.5 tbsp oil in a thick bottomed pot or pan. Add the whole spices and fry them for a few seconds or until they are fragrant.
Then add the sliced onions. Mix very well and sauté them on a low to medium heat. Add a pinch of salt for quick cooking of the onions.
Stir often and sauté until the onions become golden.
Add tomatoes. Stir and sauté the tomatoes for about 2 minutes.
Add the marinated mushrooms. Mix very well and sauté them for 6 to 7 minutes or until they shrink and you see oil specks on top.
In the bowl here 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 ½ to 1 cup water. I used organic basmati rice, so I added 1 cup of water.
Add this marinade mixed water to the mushrooms in the pan. Also add 1 cup coconut milk. Mix very well.
Season with salt and stir. On a medium heat bring the mixture to a boil.

Making Chettinad Biryani

Then add the ghee coated rice. Mix again gently.
Cover the pot or pan with a lid. Check once or twice when rice is cooking.
On a medium-low heat cook until the rice grains are tender and soft.
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 about 10 to 12 minutes to cook rice.
Once the rice grains are tender, cover and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving Chettinad Biryani. Then gently fluff the rice with a fork.

Serving & Storage

Garnish with mint or coriander leaves and serve Chettinad Biryani with a side salad or raita of your choice.
Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for one day. Keep the biryani in a covered container.
While reheating, either sauté until warm or hot in a skillet or steam for 5 minutes in a pot or an Instant Pot.

Notes

This Chettinad Biryani tastes good with both basmati rice and seeraga samba rice. If you do not have either of these rice varieties, then make the biryani with any non-sticky variety of short-grained or medium-sized rice.
For the best flavor and taste, I would suggest to use all spices. But due to non availability, skip kapok buds, stone flower and mace.
Use vegan yogurt in place of dairy yogurt or skip the curd (yogurt) altogether. If skipping yogurt, then add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to the rice after adding water. Use a neutral oil in place of ghee.
Cremini and shiitake mushrooms also taste great in this recipe. You can include a combination of various varieties of edible fresh mushrooms.
The recipe includes mint and coriander leaves (cilantro). If you do not have fresh mint leaves, use dried mint instead. For 1 tablespoon of chopped mint, use 1 teaspoon dried mint. Omit coriander leaves if you do not have these or swap with fresh parsley. Skip curry leaves if you do not have them. In all these cases the flavor will be different.
Depending on the quality, age of rice and the water content in coconut milk, the amount of water will vary. Usually for 1 cup of basmati rice, 2 cups of liquids work well when cooking in a pan or pot.
Do rinse the rice grains well so that the water is clear of starch. This will help in making the cooked rice grains non-sticky.

Nutrition