Soya Biryani, Raita, Drinks and lots of Chit Chat - All I can think of on Weekend night!
Sitting back on a couch at my cousin's house in Dubai, I am enjoying drafting this post of Soya Biryani on a lazy Sunday Morning. The weekend confusion for us is still on as we are so used to a Saturday Sunday weekend!
This city is amazing!! Emirates of Dubai is pampering us with Food and Services. There is nothing, I miss in this place except for the gorgeous fresh weather back in London. Days here start so early and evenings are equally late.
On Thursday evening when I visited the much awaited Global Village, we hanged around till 1am. Pavilions from countries around the world were stocked up with their native picks. What was amazing was to see how the vendors wanted to get rid of their stuff as it was their last 2 days for the season.
We found some handmade wooden tissue containers with such real intricate patterns and yet another beautiful tray sets from a Thailand venue. I really can't brag more about it, one has to actually visit to see it.
And tell me all about the food !! I had only heard so much about the choices, but only when you experience it is when you will actually be dumbstruck.
Can you believe we actually went Pani Puri { Street Food from Mumbai} hopping trying to judge the best vendor with the best flavor ??
And yes Dum Biryani in the mud pot was authentic to the max. It had a whole roti wrapped up and cooked to perfection. We hardly had a bite of any whole spice, yet the flavors were full on. Even the crispy roti was just what one can ask for 🙂
Hari { my better half} would always tell me, a rice dish tastes best when you don't really bite on these whole spices. No no to Cardamom or cloves. And he was right for once.
Anyways, its high time I share this recipe for Soya Biryani that has been in my drafts since December. An Ode to the Biryaniwala's in Dubai! This recipe for Soya Biryani is rich in protein and easy to make for large gatherings. Apart from regular onions, tomatoes and Ginger Garlic there is barely any chopping in this recipe. Yet it works very well and loved all the more by Meat Lovers. Especially the texture of Soya chunks reminds them of their good old Chicken.
Popular Biryani Posts in my blog are Vegetable Biryani , Paneer Biryani
Popular Soya Recipe Posts are Soya Chunks Cutlet
Ingredients
- 1.5 Cups Rice
- 3 Cups Water
- 3 BayLeaf
- 2 Black Cardamom Bada Elachi
- 1 inch Cinnamon Stick
- 3 Cloves
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1.5 Cup Soya chunks
- 3 tablespoon Siracha
- 1 tablespoon Garlic Paste
- 1 tablespoon Ginger Paste
- Salt to taste
- ½ Garam Masala
- 2 tablespoon Ghee/ Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 medium onion thinly sliced
- 1 medium tomato
- 1 teaspoon Chilli Powder
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
- ¾ teaspoon Grated ginger + 1 teaspoon Garlic paste
- Salt to taste
- 2 teaspoon Coriander Leaves
- ½ cup Frozen Peas
Instructions
- Wash Rice under running tap water and keep it aside for atleast 30 minutes.Heat butter in a non-stick pan. Alternatively, you could use a combination of oil+ butter.Once heated, pop in the whole garam masala’s. Fry them for 1-2 minutes until done. At this stage, add the washed rice and fry them for roughly 3-4 minutes until all the water gets evaporated. Add 3 cups of boiling water and allow to cook until its ¾ done. Drain the excess water and spread them on a large plate. Remove the whole spices before stirring into the Soya Chunks marination if you do not enjoy whole spices 🙂
- Whilst the rice is set aside, soak Soya Chunks in Hot water for 10 -15 minutes minimum. Squeeze out all the water and place them in a large bowl. Add the ingredients for marination to the soya chunks and coat them well. Set it aside for at least 30 minutes to a maximum of 2 hours.
- Heat Oil/Ghee in a large pan, add Sliced Onions and Fry until translucent.
- Add marinated soya chunks, ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 more minutes over medium flame.
- Add finely chopped tomatoes,Chilli Powder, Turmeric Powder and coriander powder. Fry until the tomatoes become soft. Add ¼ -½ Cup of Water when the onion tomato mixture comes together.
- Add frozen green peas and give it a stir.
- At this stage add the cooked rice to the soya chunks mixture, sprinkle garam masala, and cover the pan with lid and cook for 10 min in really low flame.
- Turn off the flame and allow the rice to stand for sometime before you stir them to combine.
- Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve Soya Biryani hot with Boondi Raita and salad.
Margaret Gallagher says
A twist on my normal biriyani - looks DELICIOUS
Anupa says
I have always wanted to try it but kept delaying... your post is a reminder for me :)... looks so pretty and delicious
Sandhya Hariharan says
Do give it a shot Anupa.. Its a fool proof recipe!