Biryani-style rice

Biryani-style rice

This is a quick version of the classic Indian recipe, Biryani rice. Serve it as an accompaniment to a curry or Goan-style stuffed mackerel.

Biryani-style rice

  • Serves icon Serves 4
  • Time icon Takes 10 min to make, 20 min to cook

This is a quick version of the classic Indian recipe, Biryani rice. Serve it as an accompaniment to a curry or Goan-style stuffed mackerel.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
273kcals
Fat
8.2g (2.4g saturated)
Protein
4g
Carbohydrates
42.5g (5.5g sugar)
Salt
trace

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
  • 175g large shallots, thinly sliced
  • Pinch of saffron strands
  • 300g basmati rice
  • 25g ghee or butter
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 8 cardamom pods, lightly bruised
  • 8 cloves
  • 2 x 5cm cinnamon sticks
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 50g sultanas
Sticky screen? No thanks! Tap to prevent your screen from going off while cooking.

Method

Pour enough vegetable oil to come 1cm up the sides of a large frying pan. Place over a medium-high heat and fry the shallot, stirring occasionally, until crisp and richly golden. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a tray lined with kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt, then leave to cool and crispen.
Grind the saffron to a powder in a pestle and mortar. Add 1 tbsp hot water and set aside. Put the rice into a bowl, cover with cold water and run the grains through your fingers until the water turns milky. Pour away the water and repeat 2-3 times until the water runs almost clear. Drain well.
Melt the ghee or butter in a medium-sized pan over a medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves and sultanas and leave to sizzle for a few seconds. Stir in the rice, 500ml boiling water and 1 tsp salt. Bring to the boil, stir once, cover, reduce the heat to low and leave to cook for 10 minutes. Uncover to let the steam escape, quickly drizzle over the saffron water, re-cover and set aside for 5 minutes.
Uncover the rice and gently fluff up with a fork. Fork through the crisp-fried shallots and serve.

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving
Calories
273kcals
Fat
8.2g (2.4g saturated)
Protein
4g
Carbohydrates
42.5g (5.5g sugar)
Salt
trace

Buy ingredients online

Subscribe

Fancy getting a copy in print?

Subscribe to our magazine

Rate & review

Rate

Reviews

Share a tip

Subscribe to our magazine

Food stories, skills and tested recipes, straight to your door... Enjoy 5 issues for just £5 with our special introductory offer.

Subscribe

Unleash your inner chef

Looking for inspiration? Receive the latest recipes with our newsletter

We treat your data with care. See our privacy policy. By signing up, you are agreeing to delicious.’ terms and conditions. Unsubscribe at any time.