Mushroom Biryani

Name: Mushroom Biryani
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 200g basmati rice; 2 to 3 tbsp oil; 1 tsp cumin; 1 tsp fennel; 3cm piece of cassia bark; 2 cloves; 3 green cardamoms; 2 strands of mace; 1 bay leaf; 1 star anise; 10 curry leaves; 1 onion, finely chopped; 6 cloves of garlic, crushed in a mortar-pestle; 7cm ginger, crushed in a mortar-pestle; 1 or 2 green chillies, finely chopped; 1 tomato, finely chopped; 1 tsp turmeric powder; 1 tsp red chilli powder; half tsp garam masala powder; 1 tsp coriander powder; ¼ tsp black pepper; 1 tsp salt; 250g chestnut mushrooms, cut into chunks; Handful mint leaves, chopped; Handful coriander leaves, chopped

Instructions

Biryanis are an absolute skill to get right and I have tried a fair few in my time. This South Indian style biryani is very different to the classic Biryani in how it is cooked and put together. Some may argue that it's not actually a biryani at all, which I do understand because unlike a traditional biryani it's not a dish of alternating rice and masala layers. The South Indian biryani is cooked more in the style of a pilau with the rice cooked in the masala. Not being a purist, I think it's a fabulous dish and the flavours are just as fragrant. I love using slightly different spices in this dish (especially the star anise) to add the aniseed notes that are so delicious. I have kept it simple using chestnut mushrooms, but you can really go to town and use whatever combination of mushrooms you like. To buy the main ingredients for my Biryani, check out my curry kit here.

Updated at: Thu, 21 Nov 2024 12:26:26 GMT