South African Vegetable Biryani Recipes

SOUTH AFRICAN VEGETABLE BIRYANI

Steps:

• In a large, heavy skillet, fry the onions in the ghee until golden. With a slotted spoon, remove ⅓ of the slices, and set aside. Add to the pot, the ginger, garlic and chili paste. Fry for 5 or 6 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the lentils, peas, carrots and beans. Reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes. Add more ghee if necessary. Add tomatoes, spices and mint. Stir for 5 minutes. Pour in 1 cup of very hot water, cover and simmer until the vegetables are half-cooked. Add the rice, potatoes, salt and another 4 to 5 cups of hot water. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is done and the water is absorbed. Garnish with the reserved onion slices.

VEGETABLE BIRYANI (SOUTH AFRICA)

Steps:

• In a large, heavy skillet or stew pot, fry the onions in butter until they are golden brown. With a slotted spoon, remove about 1/3 of the slices and set aside.
• Add to the pot the ginger, garlic and chili paste, and fry for 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly. Then add the lentils, green peas, carrots and green beans. Reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes, adding more butter or a bit of oil if needed.
• Add the tomatoes, spices and mint, and stir for 5 minutes.
• Then pour a cup of hot water, cover, and simmer until vegetables are about half cooked.
• Add rice, potatoes, salt and another 4-5 cups of hot water (use the lesser amount if your vegetables have created quite a bit of liquid). Cover again, and cook for another 20-30 minutes until rice is done and water is absorbed.
• To serve, garnish with the reserved onion slices, and pass around a bowl of yogurt as a sauce.

VEGETABLE BIRYANI

Steps:

• Melt ghee in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in cumin seed, cinnamon stick, and peppercorns; cook until the spices are fragrant, and the cumin seeds begin to pop, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in ginger garlic paste, tomatoes, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a simmer, and cook until the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in peas, carrot, and potato. Season with chicken bouillon, salt, red chile, black pepper, garam masala, and turmeric. Stir well, then cover, and cook for 3 minutes.
• Pour in 4 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, stir in basmati rice, reduce heat to medium, recover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook until the rice has softened, 10 to 15 minutes more.