Quinoa Biryani

5 from 6 votes

This fluffy, delicious and healthy vegan quinoa biryani with chickpeas and spices has all of the flavor of a regular biryani but it is packed with nutrition.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Main dish

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 235kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Equipment

Saucepan
Dutch oven or large pot with lid

Ingredients

For the quinoa "rice"

1 cup quinoa (rinsed thoroughly in a fine-mesh strainer)
2¼ cups water
1 inch cinnamon stick
3 green cardamom pods
3 cloves
1 teaspoon caraway seeds (black cumin or shahi jeera. Use cumin seeds as a substitute)
Salt to taste

For the kala chana biryani sauce

1 teaspoon oil (any neutral oil, including avocado oil, sunflower oil, grape seed oil, etc.)
1 large onion (finely chopped)
1 heaping tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 cup tomato puree (preferably made with fresh tomatoes, but you can substitute canned tomato puree)
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons dried mint (use 2 tablespoons if using fresh mint)
2 teaspoons dried dill (use 2 tablespoons if using fresh dill)
¾ cup vegan yogurt
Juice of ½ lemon
¼ cup fried onions (divided)
1 cup dried kala chana (black chickpeas)
2 heaping tbsp biryani masala (tweak the amount according to your preference)
½ cup cilantro (finely chopped, plus more for garnish)
Salt to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the quinoa rice

Add 2 ¼ cups water to a saucepan. Add cinnamon stick, black cumin seeds, green cardamom pods, cloves and bay leaves to the water. Add salt to taste.
Add the washed quinoa to the water with spices and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower heat to a simmer, cover the saucepan with a tight lid, and let the quinoa cook 12 minutes. Turn off heat and let the quinoa stand until it has absorbed all the water. Then fluff it with a fork.

Make the biryani sauce

Cook the kala chana in advance until tender in the Instant Pot (35 minutes on high pressure), or in a stovetop pressure cooker or in a saucepan covered with two inches water.
In a larger pot or Dutch oven, add a teaspoon of oil. Add the salt with salt and ground black pepper. Saute until the onions brown. If the onions start to stick, add some water and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Once the onions have browned, stir in the ginger garlic paste and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Stir in the tomato puree and mix well with the onions. Add turmeric and cayenne and mix it in.
Stir in the ground coriander, dill and mint. Let the sauce continue cooking for 5-10 minutes over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until it has darkened visibly and most of the moisture has evaporated. Add the vegan yogurt and lemon juice to the pot and stir them in.
Next add the kala chana followed by the biryani masala. Let the sauce come to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add a little more water, no more than ½ cup, if the sauce is too thick. Check for salt and add more if needed. Stir in the cilantro and half the fried onions, if using. Turn heat down to the lowest point and mix everything well.

Assemble the biryani

Layer the cooked quinoa over the biryani sauce in an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining fried onions over the quinoa, and a bit of dried mint. Cover the pot with a tight lid and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the quinoa biryani stand 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition