A healthy brown rice biryani recipe packed with flavour. This aromatic curry is a lighter version of the traditional Indian recipe, with 6 different vegetables, a delicious blend of spices and healthy wholegrain brown rice.
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What you'll love about the recipe
- Brown rice biryani is a lighter and healthier biryani with more fibre and less fat and calories. This recipe has a quarter of the fat of a comparable ready-meal
- Packed with veggies - there are 6 different veggies in this healthy vegetable biryani which will count as 3 of your 5 a day
- An easy vegan dinner recipe. It's simple enough for a family weekday meal, but special enough for the weekend
- A nicer, healthier and cheaper alternative to a takeaway curry
You might also like to try this brown rice pilau with lentils.
Ingredients
Brown rice. You'll need long grain brown rice which is commonly available in supermarkets (short grain rice is better for risottos and pudding).
Olive oil. Obviously olive oil isn't authentic in a biryani but you won't notice the flavour. Use another healthy cooking oil if you prefer, or you could use ghee.
Onions. There are a lot of onions in this recipe, as I think they carry the flavour of the spices really well and are an important ingredient in a biryani. Plus, onions are healthy and budget-friendly 🙂
Garlic and ginger. Both these aromatics add lots of flavour to brown rice biryani. I've used fresh garlic and ginger, but you could use a paste if you prefer.
Vegetables for biryani
Red pepper adds a pop of colour and sweetness
Green beans and carrots add texture and flavour
Broccoli and peas are both highly nutritious and add freshness
Use this list as a starting point and vary the vegetables in your brown rice biryani as you prefer. If you add hard vegetables such as sweet potato, cut them small and add them at the start of the cooking so that they have time to cook through.
Biryani spices
This healthy rice brown biryani recipe uses a simplified list of spices
Garam masala is a blend of several different spices. It is aromatic rather than hot.
Turmeric. This adds a distinctive yellow colour and slightly earthy flavour.
Chilli powder is usually made from a blend of different types of chilli and other spices. You can buy milder and hotter blends so choose what suits you. Of course you can also vary the quantity of chilli that you add to your brown rice biryani.
You could also add fresh chopped chilli if you prefer.
How to make brown rice biryani
Soak the brown rice in warm water from the kettle whilst you get on with preparing the rest of the recipe. I find the soaked rice cooks through more quickly and evenly.
Peel and finely slice the onions.
Put the frying pan on a medium to high heat and add the olive oil. Add the onions and garam masala and fry for 10 minutes until the onions are soft and brown.
Meanwhile prepare the other vegetables.
Finely slice the pepper, and trim the beans and cut into lengths about 3-4cm (1.5 inches)
Cut the carrots into small bite-sized batons about 5mm (¼ inch) thick. It's important that these are thin otherwise they won't cook through properly.
Cut the broccoli into mini bite-sized florets. Try to cut them through the stem so that they hold together.
Peel and crush or finely chop the garlic
When the onions are cooked, turn the heat down to low. Add the garlic, turmeric and chilli powder. Mix in the peppers, beans and carrots.
Cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes. Check regularly that the spices are not burning on the bottom of the pan - if necessary add a splash of water.
After 15 minutes add the broccoli and peas and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
Cook the rice whilst the vegetables are cooking.
Add a lid to the pan, bring the rice up to a simmer and cook gently for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the pan to ensure it doesn't boil dry.
Check that the rice is cooked to your taste and drain well. Stir the rice into the spiced vegetable mixture. Serve hot.
Recipe tips
If you've got a cupboard full of spices, why not make the garam masala blend for this recipe.
Add the following to a dry pan on a low heat:
- 1 teaspoon coriander seed
- 0.5 teaspoon cumin seed
- 0.25 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 0.25 teaspoon cardamon seeds
- 0.25 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 2-3 cloves
- good grinding of black pepper
Toast the spices on a low heat for 2-3 minutes until they start to darken slightly and give off an aroma.
Grind the toasted spices in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.
You can also use this garam masala blend in this delicious red lentil dahl.
Serving and storage
I like to serve brown rice biryani with vegetables with extra protein to make a filling and satisfying meal.
For a vegan accompaniment, add a drained can of chickpeas to the biryani at the same time as the vegetables.
You could also top with a boiled egg, or serve with a Greek yogurt raita (stir some garam masala, grated garlic and grated cucumber into a small bowl of yogurt).
For meat eaters, why not make a brown rice biryani with chicken? Marinate bite-sized pieces of chicken breast in some yogurt, spices, lemon juice and a little oil for at least 20 minutes. Pan fry until cooked through and stir into the cooked biryani.
You can also serve the biryani with leftover cooked meat, or salmon.
If you've got leftover brown rice biryani, pop it in the fridge once it reaches room temperature and store for up to 2 days. Reheat the curry on a low heat on the stove, adding a splash of water to stop it sticking to the pan.
Leftover brown rice biryani can also be frozen. Freeze in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. Defrost at room temperature.
Other healthy dinner recipes
You might also like these other healthy dinner recipes which all use warming spices.
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Recipe
Brown Rice Biryani
Equipment
- large frying pan with lid
- saucepan with lid
Ingredients
- 250 g long grain brown rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 onions
- 2 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon mild chilli powder adjust to taste
- 120 g carrots scrubbed
- 120 g green beans
- ½ red pepper deseeded and cored
- 120 g broccoli
- 120 g peas frozen or fresh
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the rice to a lidded saucepan and cover with warm water from the kettle. Set aside.
- Peel and finely slice the onions.
- Place a large frying pan on a medium to high heat and add the olive oil. Fry the onions and garam masala for 10 minutes until starting to brown.
- Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. Cut the carrots into bite-sized batons about 5mm thick, trim the beans, and finely slice the pepper. Cut the broccoli into small bite-sized florets. Peel and crush or finely chop the garlic.
- Turn the heat down to low and add the garlic, turmeric and chilli powder to the pan. Add the carrots, beans and peppers.
- Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Check regularly that the spices aren't burning on the bottom of the pan - if necessary add a splash of water.
- Add the broccoli and peas and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Whilst the vegetables are cooking, cook the rice over a low heat in a covered pan for 20 minutes. Drain well.
- Add the drained rice to the vegetable mixture and stir to mix. Serve hot.
Notes
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- 1 teaspoon coriander seed
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- 0.5 teaspoon cumin seed
-
- 0.25 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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- 0.25 teaspoon cardamon seeds
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- 0.25 teaspoon fennel seeds
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- 1 bay leaf
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- 2-3 cloves
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- good grinding of black pepper
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.
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