Any Mushroom lovers here ?? Well if you like mushrooms, this biryani is going to a fantastic addition to your mushroom dishes. Made with minimal ingredients, this biryani comes together fairly quickly and is a complete meal in itself. Today i am making a little tweak to the original recipe and adding some coconut flavour to this biryani which i am sure you are going to fall in love with ! So, lets make this Mushroom Coconut Biryani
I love Mushrooms !! To me, it is one of those vegetables which i do not like to share with anyone 😛 I can practically eat it for all 3 meals everyday. Well mushrooms are great for many reasons : they are nutritious, available all year round, are versatile and oh so delicious ! Whip them up in soups, curries, as a topping for pizzas, pastas, stuff them for appetizers, grill them, fry them, bake with them.. so many possibilites – all delicious ! I usually get the biggest possible bag available in the market and then i keep using them throughout the week ! This time, i got hold of around 2 pounds and thought i should try making a biryani with some of it 🙂
Rice
One of the most important ingredient of a good biryani is – Rice !! The better rice you choose, the better biryanis it would yield. I love to use Basmati rice for biryanis as i think basmati is really flavorful and has long grains which looks amazing and taste wonderful upon cooking. Just a few days back i got a whole lot of different rice samples from Tilda and i thought i should try using some of their rice for this dish ! Tilda has a wide range of basmati rice to choose from and their website has a lot of interest rice facts and information. If you like rice, check out their website here.
Did you know – The Older the rice, the better flavor it has !!
Tilda Rice samples – Vintage Basmati, wholegrain, white and ready to eat meals !
This is the first time i am cooking mushrooms in a biryani dish. This idea actually is inspired by one of my friend- Divya’s signature Mushroom biryani dish. I remember the first time i had mushroom biryani and it was an instant love ! I had organized a potluck at my house and my friend decided to bring mushroom biryani for the event. To be frank, i was a bit skeptical about it but as i had the initial few bites, i was completely in awe of it. I asked her for her recipe and she gave me a sketchy idea of how it comes together. I bookmarked it in my head right away 🙂
Mushroom Coconut Biryani
Recipe
- Button Mushrooms- 8 oz / 250 gms , cut into quarters
- Basmati Rice – 1 cup (I used Tilda’s Wholegrain Basmati)
- Ghee/Clarified Butter- 2 tablespoons
- Whole spices ( 1 bay leaf, 3-4 cloves, 1 stick of cinnamon)
- cumin seeds- 1 tsp
- green chilies- 2 medium , slit in half
- ginger- 1 inch , finely chopped
- onion- 1 medium , cut lengthwise
- salt- 1/2 tsp
- turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp (optional. It adds a nice color to the Biryani)
- red chili powder/ paprika- 1/2 tsp (optional)
- Tomato Puree – 2 tablespoon
- garam masala- 1/2 tsp
- coconut milk – 1 cup
- water- 1 cup
- fresh mint- 1/2 cup , finely chopped
- fresh coriander- 1/2 cup , finely chopped
Method
- Wash the basmati thoroughly.Now, in a bowl, soak the basmati with the mix of water and coconut milk for atleast half an hour. Meanwhile we will prepare the mushrooms.
- In a thick bottom pan, take the ghee and bring to heat. Once hot, add in the whole spices and cumin seeds. Saute for a couple of seconds or till the cumin splutter.
- Next, add in the chopped onion, ginger, green chilies. Saute for a couple of minutes or till the onions turn translucent.
- Add in the mushrooms and saute on medium high for a couple of minutes. Add in salt, red chili powder and mix.
- Next, add in the soaked rice with water + coconut milk mix. Add in the tomato puree. Mix.
- Let the rice cook on high till the water boils. Once it boils, add in the fresh mint and half the coriander. Reduce the flame and simmer for 5-7 minutes till the rice is soft. Using a fork, fluff up the rice a bit.
- Add in the fresh coriander and garam masala. The Mushroom Biryani is ready to be served.
Variations :
To amp up the coconut flavour, you can also add in some fresh grated coconut on top. You can add more vegetables like peas, corn and carrots to this biryani.
Tip : Always soak basmati rice for atleast half an hour before cooking – the rice cooks and tastes better. You can also dry roast the rice a bit before soaking it for a even nuttier taste and a unique texture !
This biryani has a beautiful scent and is full of flavours. The wholegrain basmati rice amps up the wholesomeness of this dish and brings an amazing nutty flavour which really compliments the mushrooms in this dish. Thank you Tilda for those wonderful samples 🙂 The rice made this dish what it is – Awesome !!
I served the biryani with some simple raita and it was the best meal ever ! The best part is that this dish comes together in very less time and looks like a king’s meal 🙂 Try it out !
Yummm, mushrooms are my favorite, too! I’m interested to hear your thoughts on all the Tilda samples! I only use the standard Tilda basmati.
Sure ! Well so far i have just tried the wholegrain and the wholegrain + white mixed and loved both – they have suh amazing flavours and long grain ! Perfect for Indian dishes <3
Reblogged this on Retired? No one told me! and commented:
Oh wow! This got me salivating…I love mushrooms just like the author of this definitely one to make…
Well I know what I’m having for dinner tonight…
Such great flavors in this biryani, and the colors oh so vibrant!
Pingback: Diwali 2016- Collection of 27 recipes | Divine Spice Box