Palak Biryani - lightly spiced, aromatic and easy spinach biryani
- luvlittlehearts
- Mar 22, 2016
- 2 min read
Ingredients
2 cups basmati rice soaked for 30 minutes
1 large onion, sliced
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 medium size tomato, chopped
4 cups of water
3 tbsp oil or ghee
some fried cashews for garnishing (optional)
salt as required
1 inch cinnamon
1 small star anise
2 green cardamoms
1 or 2 black cardamoms
2-3 cloves
1 bay leaf
a pinch of mace
¼ tsp red chili powder
¼ tsp garam masala powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp fennel
1 tsp coriander powder
a pinch of asafetida (optional)
For the spinach puree:
1 medium bunch spinach or 2 cups of chopped frozen spinach
½ cup mint leaves
½ cup coriander leaves
1 or 2 green chilies
5-6 almonds
Method: Preparing the spinach puree: Rinse the palak/spinach leaves well. Chop and keep aside. Chop the green chilies, mint, and coriander leaves. In a blender, add the chopped spinach, mint, coriander, green chili, and almonds. Add ½ cup water and blend to a smooth paste.
Preparing the biryani: Rinse and soak the rice. Heat oil in a thick bottom and deep pan or pot. Add all the whole spices. Fry for some seconds or till the oil gets fragrant. Add the sliced onions & fry till they are browned. Remove some of the fried onions for garnishing. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for some seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till the tomatoes become soft for 2-3 minutes. Keep on stirring so that the ingredients do not stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the spinach puree and stir. Sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add all the dry spice powders one by one and stir. Drain the soaked rice and add stir for 1-2 minutes. Pour 4 or 4.5 cups water. Add salt and mix well. Check the taste of the broth and if required add some more salt. Cover tightly with a lid and cook till the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked. Fluff the rice. Serve palak biryani hot garnished with the fried onions and fried cashews with a side vegetable curry, raita, yogurt curry or some salad.
Happy Cooking!
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