Vegetable & Bean Biryani
Ingredients
1. main dish, vegetarian, rice
2. 1 medium aubergine; cubed (large is better, t
3. 1 pinch salt and black pepper
4. 4 tablespoon vegetable oil or vegetable ghee
5. 3/4 teaspoon poppy seeds
6. 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
7. 1 pinch cayenne
8. 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
9. 3/4 teaspoon garam masala
10. 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
11. 1 red pepper; seeded & sliced
12. 3 oz butter beans; cooked
13. 2 tomatoes; skinned, seeded & chopped
14. 8 oz long grained brown rice; cooked with saffron
15. 1 oz toasted pine nuts
16. 1 oz raisins
17. 1 coriander sprig for garnish*
Preparation method
Place the aubergine cubes in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 minutes. Rinse the cubes and dry. Heat the oil or ghee in a large pan. Add the poppy and mustard seeds and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add the cayenne pepper, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, aubergine, red pepper, beans, tomatoes and salt and pepper. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Layer the rice and vegetable mixture in an ovenproof dish. Cover and cook in a preheated moderate oven (180~C, 350~F, Gas Mark 4) for 30 minutes. To serve:
Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and raisins. Garnish with a coriander sprig and serve hot.
* I’ve never used sprig of coriander – can’t stand it unless it’s ground coriander, from a packet! It’s called cilantro in the US, isn’t it?
