This is a simple one-pot biryani variety made with spinach or palak. The main ingredient, spinach, combines well with the spices, herbs, and aromatics in this recipe.
For a hearty lunch or dinner, try this nutritious green biryani with raita, salad, or pickles. This method eliminates the need for layers and the need to cook multiple ingredients at different times. After pureeing the spinach, it is cooked with rice, tomatoes, onion, and spices. Unlike the typical biryani variety, this recipe is simple and quick to prepare.
Ingredients for Spinach Biryani Recipe:
- One cup of rinsed basmati rice
- One medium onion
- One medium tomato
- One teaspoon of garlic-ginger paste
- One and a half cups of water
- Two tablespoons of ghee or oil
- juice of one-half lemon
Regarding Palak Puree:
- One medium bunch or two to three cups of spinach
- One-half cup pudina mint
- ¼ cup of cilantro leaves
- Three scallions
Spices:
- One inch of cinnamon
- Two pairs of cloves
- Two cardamoms in green
- One tiny star anise, if desired
- A single bay leaf
- One tablespoon of fennel seeds
- One teaspoon powdered coriander
- ½ teaspoon haldi (turmeric powder)
- ½ teaspoon powdered cumin (jeera)
- One teaspoon of garam masala or biryani powder
Regarding Garnishing:
- Eight to ten fried cashews, garnished
- One tablespoon of optional fried onions
How to cook?
- To get rid of sand or salt, give palak (spinach leaves) a thorough rinse in water at least twice.
- Fill a blender with chopped palak, green chiles, pudina, and coriander leaves.
- Blend with very little water to make a smooth paste, then set aside.
- After adding the oil, heat it up, then add the whole spices and sauté for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Now add finely chopped onions and ginger-garlic paste.
- Cook for two to three minutes, stirring frequently, until they become tender and golden brown.
- Add the tomatoes and dry spices (such as coriander, jeera, turmeric, and biryani powder) and cook for 2 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft.
- After that, add the spinach puree and boil for one to two minutes. Now stir in the water, salt, and rinsed basmati rice. Water should be adjusted accordingly.
- Shut the pot’s cover and wait for the natural pressure release when the pot beeps.
- Finally, lift the lid away from you, squeeze in the lime juice, add the cashews and fried onion as garnish, and stir thoroughly.
- Spinach or Palak biryani is prepared. Accompany with plain yogurt or raita.
Expert Advice
- Use Fresh Herbs: To enhance the flavor, grind some fresh herbs, such as mint and coriander leaves, into the spinach.
- Adding fried onions: You can easily make fried onions at home, but I used store-bought ones for this recipe. Thinly slice onions and deep fry them in hot oil until golden. Put them on a paper towel to absorb extra oil.
- When preparing this recipe for palak rice, keep in mind that you are adding water to grind the spinach puree.
Also try: Chicken Donne Biryani, Iranian Biryani