Vegetable Biryani - The Veggie Table

This hearty vegetable and rice casserole is from India.

Yield	6 servings
Time	1 hour
Tools	saucepan with tight-fitting lid wooden spoon large frying pan or wok 2½ quart baking dish aluminum foil
Ingredients	1½ c brown rice (long-grain or Basmati) 3 T vegetable oil, butter, or ghee large pinch saffron pinch turmeric ½ t salt 2¼ c hot water 1 c onions, chopped 2 t fresh ginger, peeled and grated 1½ t ground cumin seeds 1½ t ground coriander seeds ½ t cinnamon pinch of cayenne ½ c water 1 small sweet potato OR 1 medium carrot, diced 2 c small cauliflower florets 1 medium bell pepper, diced 1 tomato, diced ½ c fresh or frozen peas 1/3 c raisins ¾ c chickpeas, canned and drained or soaked and cooked
Directions	Heat 1 T oil or butter, add rice, and sauté briefly, stirring to completely coat each grain. Add crumbled saffron, turmeric, salt, and hot water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 T oil over medium-high heat and sauté onions for 5 minutes. Add ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne, and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Preheat oven to 350. Add ½ c water, sweet potato or carrot, and cauliflower. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 3-4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until vegetables are just tender, adding more water as needed. Salt to taste. Butter baking dish, spread half of rice in it, cover with vegetable mixture, and top with the rest of the rice. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Notes	Garnishes: toasted cashews or almonds plain yogurt hard-boiled eggs chutney Adapted from The Moosewood Collective’s Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant: Ethnic and regional recipes from the cooks at the legendary restaurant. Buy it: Amazon.com \| Amazon.co.uk
	Key to abbreviations and conversions
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