I have been making this mushroom biryani for nearly two decades now, and it's one of the recipes my family and friends request most often. It has a delicious, luscious mushroom curry sauce layered with long grains of aromatic basmati rice. Every bite is a feast for the senses!
Table of Contents
What is mushroom biryani?
Mushroom biryani is a meatless variation of an Indian biryani, a layered dish of rice and a spicy, often meat-based curry that's rich, sumptuous, and usually eaten for special occasions. If you have already made my vegetable biryani, this is a similar dish to make but it tastes very different because of the mushrooms, which stand in for the meat and add amazing umami and texture.
This is a beginner-friendly recipe, tailored for those who think that making a biryani seems just so darn hard. This biryani is ready from scratch in about 35 minutes. It's straightforward and requires almost no prep other than chopping an onion, slicing mushrooms and pureeing a few tomatoes. The ingredient list is simple albeit a little long, but you likely have everything in your pantry even if you cook Indian food only occasionally. The recipe is gluten-free, soy-free and can easily be made nut-free by skipping the cashews.
This is a gorgeous, utterly satisfying dish. The rice grains cook long and slender and intensely fragrant - wonderful in every spoonful with the spicy, perfectly seasoned mushroom curry sauce.
The star ingredient in this mushroom biryani recipe are the mushrooms, of course, and they do so much more than play proxy for meat. They add precious umami to the recipe and they add so much nutrition, because mushrooms are among the healthiest foods you can eat. I like using cremini mushrooms here but wild mushrooms, button mushrooms or portobello mushrooms are fine substitutes. For the basmati rice, the other star ingredient, there is no substitute. You simply cannot make a biryani with any other rice!
Love a good biryani? I have so many biryani recipes for you, including an authentic, Indian-restaurant-style vegetable biryani, dum aloo biryani, and quinoa biryani.
Recipe card
Mushroom Biryani
Ingredients
For the rice layer
- 1½ cups raw basmati rice (Soak the rice in water for 10 minutes, then drain out all water and wash the rice thoroughly in a strainer or colander).
- ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (shahi jeera. Use cumin seeds as a substitute)
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt to taste
For the mushroom biryani sauce
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 4 cloves
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 1-inch cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 large onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 heaping tbsp ginger garlic paste (or crush together six cloves garlic and an inch-long knob of ginger)
- ¼ cup cilantro (chopped, divided)
- 2 tomatoes (pureed. Or use 1 cup canned tomato puree)
- 1 teaspoon cayenne (or paprika, which will add more color and less heat. You can use Kashmiri chilli powder if you have it)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon garam masala (or biryani masala)
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- 12 oz cremini mushrooms (or button mushrooms, sliced.)
- 1 cup mushroom stock (or water)
- Salt to taste
- ½ cup fried onions (optional. You already have the onions you will caramelize in the recipe, but I like scattering a few fried onions on top for more yum and a nice presentation)
Instructions
Make the rice
- Place soaked rice in a saucepan. Add six cups water, ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (shahi jeera), four green cardamom pods, four cloves, two bay leaves and salt to taste. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat to medium and let the rice cook, uncovered, 6-7 minutes more or until the rice grains are tender with a very slight bite. Strain the rice in a colander immediately.
Make the biryani sauce
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add two bay leaves, four cardamom pods, four cloves, and an inch-long stick of cinnamon. Saute for a minute.
- Stir in the onions, a little salt, and ½ teaspoon of caraway seeds. Stir-fry the onions until they are crispy and caramelized. Stir in the ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.
- Add two tablespoons of cilantro and the pureed tomatoes to the pot. Mix them in.
- Add the spice powders: ground coriander, ground cumin, cayenne and turmeric. Mix well and cook the sauce, stirring frequently, until the mixture is quite dry. Stir in the cashews and mix. Add the mushrooms and mix with the sauce in the pot.
- Add a cup of mushroom stock or water to the mushrooms and bring to a boil. Simmer five minutes. Check salt and add more as needed.
Assemble the biryani
- Turn heat to low and layer the rice over the mushroom sauce.
- Sprinkle the remaining two tablespoons of cilantro and the optional fried onions over the rice. Cover with a tight lid and let the biryani steam for another five minutes. Wait 10 minutes to open the pot before serving - don't peek.
Serve
- Dig down to the bottom of the biryani with a ladle or spatula to ensure you get both layers of the biryani - the sauce and the rice - in each serving.
Notes
- Salt the water you cook the rice in, just as you would salt pasta water. The rice will soak in the flavors of the salt and the spices as it cooks.
- If sensitive to heat, make sure you know how spicy the garam masala or biryani masala you are using is. If you want less heat, skip the cayenne or add less of it.
Nutrition Information
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How to make mushroom biryani
Place soaked rice in a saucepan. Add six cups water, ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (shahi jeera), four green cardamom pods, four cloves, two bay leaves and salt to taste. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat to medium and let the rice cook, uncovered, 6-7 minutes more or until the rice grains are tender with a very slight bite. Strain the rice in a colander immediately.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add two bay leaves, four cardamom pods, four cloves, and an inch-long stick of cinnamon. Saute for a minute.
Stir in the onions and ½ teaspoon of caraway seeds. Stir-fry the onions until they are crispy and caramelized.
Stir in the ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.
Add two tablespoons of cilantro and the pureed tomatoes to the pot. Mix them in.
Add the spice powders: ground coriander, ground cumin, cayenne and turmeric. Mix well and cook the sauce, stirring frequently, until the mixture is quite dry.
Stir in the cashews and mix.
Add the mushrooms and mix with the sauce in the pot.
Add a cup of mushroom stock or water to the mushrooms and bring to a boil. Simmer five minutes. Check salt and add more as needed. Turn heat to low and layer the rice over the mushroom sauce.
Sprinkle the remaining cilantro and the optional fried onions over the rice. Cover with a tight lid and let the biryani steam for another five minutes.Wait 10 minutes to open the pot before serving - don't peek.
My top tips
- Use fresh mushrooms. Mushrooms that are beginning to brown can smell fishy and become rather slimy after cooking, ruining the biryani (you would be better off adding those to a mushroom stock). A fresh cremini mushroom should feel firm, with a rounded cap, and with no spots or dents. When you slice it, the inside should be bright white.
- Fry the onions until very crisp. Caramelizing and crisping the onions is a key flavor-building block in this biryani.
- Don't overcook the mushrooms. When mushrooms are cooked, their texture changes rapidly, going from crisp to waterlogged. They need to cook for just five minutes in the sauce, and then five more minutes after you add the rice.
- Cook the rice to an al dente texture. Biryani rice grains should be long, separate, and extremely aromatic after cooking. Soak the basmati for a few minutes, then rinse it thoroughly in a strainer, under running water. This will wash away a lot of the starch clinging to the grains. Cook the rice until it is tender, but still has a very light bite at the center. It will finish cooking after you add it to the sauce.
Mushroom biryani FAQs
You can, but you would need to cook the brown rice longer. Also, a biryani made with brown rice would not taste right. I would not recommend substituting the basmati rice with any other rice, including brown basmati rice.
You can, but you won't get the two distinctive layers of rice and sauce. If you would, however, like to use an Instant Pot, follow the instructions in my vegan Instant Pot biryani recipe.
Yes, you can make the biryani up to four days ahead of serving and store in the fridge. A biryani should be served hot or warm, so reheat on a low flame or in the oven until warmed through.
You can try picking out the spices before serving, but that would be tedious and also would require you to mix the biryani, which means you would lose those distinct layers of sauce and rice. My advice is to guide anyone who is unfamiliar with Indian cuisine to just move the spices to the side of the plate as they eat.
Serve mushroom biryani with vegan raita or kachumber, a simple onion, cucumber and tomato salad.
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to four days in an airtight container. For longer storage freeze for up to four months. Thaw and reheat in the oven or on the stovetop before serving.
Make the mushroom sauce as described and use cauliflower rice instead of basmati rice. See my cauliflower rice biryani recipe for more on how to cook the cauliflower rice.
Recipe first published on January 2013. Updated and republished on Jan. 2, 2025.
Anne says
Mushroom Biryani - Fantastic recipe. I precooked (sauted) the mushrooms to make sure they are soft. This is now one of my favorite mushroom entres. I used brown basmati rice, cooked a little longer. It was outstanding. Highly recommend.
Susan McLaughli says
I am enjoying your recipes, but have a question about the caraway seeds in the rice. I found the seeds too hard when eating the biryani. Am I doing something wrong?
Vaishali says
Hi Susan, The caraway seeds are small and you shouldn't be able to even know they're there--are you using the right seed? Otherwise you can just leave them out, or sub with cumin. Cheers.
Irma says
Hi Vaishali,
Hope you're well!
Thank you for an excellent, flavourful recipe. My husband and I are just beginning to veganize our lives and we are so grateful for your recipes. Can't imagine the effort behind each and every one - so, thank you!
I made this today, exactly according to your instructions. Didn't have saffron nor mint, but man! This was delicious!!! And easy!!! Next time I will make sure I have the omitted ingredients on hand because I can imagine the flavour would be even better. Which is saying a lot... because we loved tonight's dinner 🙂
Angelina isaacs says
Hi..Vashali could you elaborate what spices are in the briyani masala..
Love all your recipies. Thanks
Roshni says
Hi Vaishali, I just love this recipe. I made your other biryani recipe in the past, and wanted to try it out as soon as I saw this. Everyone, my husband and kids, were licking their fingers. And no oil, this is amazing.
Vaishali says
Thanks, Roshni, glad you liked it!
Anonymous says
Hi Vaishali,
Can Brown Rice be used for this recipe?
Thanks
-Mukta
Vaishali says
Mukta, yes, you definitely can. Precook the brown rice which would take longer, of course, and follow the rest of the instructions.
Highland Fashionista says
Thank you SO much for this wonderful blog. I am learning so much abut the origins of this cuisine, and as someone who is lukewarm about the cooking process, this is quite a feat indeed!
Kumudha says
Mushroom biryani looks so YUM!
Mushroom biryani taste so much like meat. I always make mushroom biryani when we have friends(non-vegetarians) for dinner.
Claire-Marie says
This sounds delicious, I am definitely going to try it out. I really like your blog, although I am not Indian I grew up eating almost exclusively Indian food (long story) so your description resonated with me. (Original comment linked to a wrong blog)
Claire
Claire-Marie says
This sounds delicious, I am definitely going to try it out. I really like your blog, although I am not Indian I grew up eating almost exclusively Indian food (long story) so your description resonated with me.
Claire
anubhavati says
Hey Vaishali,
happy New Year to you and your family. That was one lovely post about some great times in the past! I remember the very first time I made Tomato Rasam. I say this because I am a Rasam Lover and I can sip cups and cups of piping hot rasam and enjoy the comfort it gives. As I seasoned the cumin, hing and mustard in a little ghee and added the chopped cilantro I was thoroughly overjoyed. Everytime I season Rasam these days I remember that first whiff of the rasam i made! Low fat biriyani looks amazing.
Shobha
Vaishali Honawar says
Shobha, I am a rasam lover too, and like you I can sip cups. Especially when there's a little ginger added to the mix. Hot rasam is a great food to mark one of life's milestones-- thanks for sharing your memory.
Mints! says
Lovely memories!! I started cooking very early as mom wanted me to be very independent. She did the same thing with my brother 🙂 I still remember my attempts of making bhakri. I also have various memories just like you that I associated with various smells, tastes. But for the longest time, I hated cooking, now I myself can't believe that!!
This is really good recipe, will try soon.
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Mints, It's hard to imagine you once hated to cook, given all the great recipes you share on your blog. I for one am glad you got over that phase and learned to love cooking. 🙂
divya says
Super recipe...looks flavorful & delicious..
Nivedhanams Sowmya says
wow love the color... looks so much like restaurant style!!! Love the pictures, espescially the last one!!! so droolworthy!!!
Sowmya
Ongoing Event - Mission - Breakfast
Richa says
Happy 2012 Vaishali! finally getting some time after all the holidays to catch up.. the biryani looks delicious!
I did not cook regular when at home ever.. the first things i cooked were things like veggie manchurian, chopsuey and the likes:). i finally picked up some roti/paratha making in the weeks before heading out to work in a different town. and then everything else just came by the need of neccesity to eat while masters here. I loved cooking, so i would cook up the days meals at 3 in the night in exchange for all cleaning duties done by my non cooking roomies:))
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Richa, happy 2013 to you. This really is the story of us desis living abroad, isn't it? We learn by necessity and then fall in love with it. 🙂 All's well that ends well.
Dixya says
loved your memorable time with the family. Every time I make Nepali food, it reminds me times with my parents, and how life was back home. Biryani is one of those things, I am really scared of making because its one of my fav and im afraid to ruin the experience for me by trying to make it healthy and all that. your mushroom biryani with coconut milk sounds delicious!
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Dixya, biryanis are, counter to their rather glamorous image, almost foolproof. At worst your rice will be a little mushy or the sauce too spicy or not spicy enough, but how bad can a pot of rice and veggies mixed up with delicious spices taste? I say go for it!
sheels says
Hey Vaishali,
Wish you and your family Happy 2013!
I am thankful to food blogs like yours and few other that I visit. Has helped me immensely to cook better.
I never cooked while I was in India, I would turn the stove probably for coffee or tea at times. I come to US and that is when I ventured into cooking. I have come a long way now in about 6-7 years of cooking. My first experiment in the kitchen was to make Thalipeeth as brunch, one of my fav food. Hubby and I were starving so I started to make thalipeeth only to realise it would not come out of the pan as one whole roti instead take it out as broken pieces some burnt and few spots undercooked....and I made hubby wait and wait for that one big circle roti to come off, which never happened BTW!
Never gave up tried after few weeks with some alterations and it was a hit 🙂
I have many failed intial experiments in the kitchen :))
Thanks for sharing such yummy recipes Vaishali. I am a vegetarian so your blog is very resourceful to me.
Vaishali Honawar says
Sheels, what a great story about the thalipeeth and thanks for sharing it. Never giving up is key in the kitchen, I agree. 🙂 Happy you've found the blog useful.