rice

Vegan baked biryani {gluten-free, soy-free}

This was actually going to be a quinoa biryani, but when I started experimenting with rice, I realised using quinoa would compromise the dish. It just won’t cut it the same way basmati rice does.

I love this biryani because it’s a one pot ‘set and forget’ wonder! All you need to do is start cooking it on the stove then transfer to the oven where it will do it’s thing. A meal this easy feels like cheating.

I recently discovered chat masala at a Indian cooking class I went to and now I’m using it on everything. If you don’t have it, you can omit it.

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Vegan baked biryani {gluten-free, soy-free}
Serves 4-6

1 tbsp cumin seeds
5 green cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
1/2 cinnamon quill
1 dried chilli
1 red onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely grated
2 carrots, diced
200g green beans, ends removed and halved
Salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cups basmati rice
Handful toasted cashews
Handful raisins or sultanas
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
2 tbsp dairy-free butter
Spring onion, to serve
Chat masala, to serve
Homemade chutney, to serve

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Heat some oil in a dutch oven over a medium heat on the stove. Add spices and let cook until fragrant. Then add onion and cook until it becomes translucent. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant.

Next, add carrot, green beans, salt and pepper, bay leaf and rice, stir to combine. Then carefully pour in 6 cups of filtered water. Stir, then bring to a boil.

Cover with oven-proof lid or sheet of foil and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

At this point, give it a quick stir to make sure rice isn’t catching on the bottom. If it is, or the rice is getting a bit too dry, add around 1/4 cup water.

Add cashews, raisins, peas and dairy-free butter. Mix through and return to oven, uncovered for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve with finely chopped spring onions, a sprinkle of chat masala and homemade chutney.

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An easy gluten-free vegan fried rice

I bring a packed lunch to work most days. My body thanks me for the home cooked nourishment. In my first office job many years ago, I took fried rice to lunch every day for at least a year. It was my mum’s recipe and it was completely and utterly delicious. Sadly it’s not something my body would thank me for today… the recipe called for lashings of kecap manis (a sweet soy sauce) and a generous amount of diced bacon.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how I could recreate a version to live up to the fading memory of mum’s fried rice. So, when I was organised enough to have some day-old rice in the fridge, I got my act together. This easy fried rice is the result, with oyster mushrooms taking the place that bacon once did.  I’ve made it many times since.

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Easy gluten-free vegan fried rice
Serves 4

1 red onion, diced
3 spring onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, grated
1cm ginger, grated
2 tbsp dry sherry
2 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
4-6 oyster mushrooms, finely sliced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 cup green peas (washed if frozen)
3 cups cooked basmati rice, refrigerated for one day
1/2 cup baked tofu, cut into small cubes

Heat some oil in a wide-based pan and add red onion. Once starting to brown, add spring onions, garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant.

Then add the sherry to deglaze the pan. Once the the liquid has evaporated, add the soy sauce and sesame oil, followed by the mushrooms. Cook for 2-4 minutes.

Add carrot, zucchini and peas and mix through to combine. Cook for a further 5 minutes then add the rice and tofu and mix until well combined.

Serve with extra soy sauce and eat on its own or as a side with a stir fry.