Cavolo nero biryani recipe
Biryani is the perfect comfort food with a delicious spice infusion. This recipe incorporates cavolo nero, split peas and heady saffron for the perfect crowd-pleasing dish (and it's vegan).
Recipe from Planted by Chantelle Nicholson (published by Kyle Books, £25).
Ingredients
For the spice base- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
- 4 cm knob of ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 4 cm knob of turmeric, peeled and finely grated
- 1 green chilli, finely diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 cardamom pods
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 pot of coconut yogurt
- 1 bunch of coriander, finely chopped
- 4 onions, peeled and finely sliced
- 180 g yellow split peas, rinsed well
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 400 g basmati rice, washed until the water runs clear
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 25 g non-dairy butter
- 250 g cavolo nero
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 175 ml vegetable oil
Details
- Cuisine: Indian
- Recipe Type: Biryani
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 30 mins
- Cooking Time: 100 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Heat 150ml (5 fl oz) of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a moderately high heat. When almost smoking, add the onions and salt and cook for 20–25 minutes, until golden and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper to drain. Retain the oil.
- Pour half the retained oil into a large saucepan and set over a medium heat. When hot, add all the ingredients from the spice base. Season with a little salt and cook for 5 minutes until fragrant.
- Add 300ml (10 fl oz) of warm water and the split peas, stirring well. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 25 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add the coconut milk and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
- While the spice base is cooking, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the rice and part-cook for 6 minutes. Drain well.
- Put the saffron in a small bowl and pour over 50ml (1.6 fl oz) of boiling water.
- Line the base of a medium to large saucepan with a circle of parchment paper. Put the remaining 25ml (1 fl oz) vegetable oil, plus the butter, on top of the paper and set over a moderately high heat.
- When hot, layer a third of the rice on the base. Spoon over a little of the saffron water. Layer half the split pea mix on top, followed by half the cavolo nero leaves and a third of the crispy onions.
- Repeat the layers. Top with the remaining third of rice, the saffron water and onions.
- Cover with a firmly fitting lid and cook over a low–medium heat for 40 minutes. Don’t be tempted to lift the lid and check while cooking, as the steam will escape, which is needed to cook the rice.
- Check the biryani after 40 minutes to see if the rice is al dente. If so, it is ready. If not, leave for a further 10 minutes.
- When ready, serve with coconut yogurt and coriander alongside.
This recipe is from Planted by Chantelle Nicholson (published by Kyle Books, £25). Photography by Nassima Rothacker.
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