It is biryani at our home every sunday without any second thoughts. So I try to include variations to it and make different types of biriyanis so that the family members can not get bored of it. Even if i serve the same biryani for seven day in a week, they eat happily ๐
Chickpea biryani is a wonderful variation to vegetable biryani. if you have the cooked chickpeas in handy, then this biryani can be prepared in a jiffy and the procedure to make this is also an easy one. As we cook it in pressure cooker, suitable for making for a big crowd. You really love the cooked chickpeas in between the rice while eating.
It pairs well with all kinds of raita (Thyir pachadi) and any mild to spicy gravy. Make sure to cook the chickpeas with basmati rice for a perfect aroma.
This chickpeas are called as chole or chana in hindi, kondakadalai in Tamil and sometimes as garbanzo beans. whatever the name is, it is been widely used across world and also India. If you have any biryani lover, try this variation.
There are many variations to make this biriyani but I always choose this method as it is easy and very mild. Both black and white chickpeas can be used for this recipe but white chickpea tastes good than black chickpea.
Basic Information:
Preparation Time:15 minutes
Soaking time: 8 hours for chickpeas and 1/2 hour for rice
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 3
Ingredients:
For Grinding:
Ginger โ 1 inch, chopped
Garlic โ 3 big cloves, chopped
Green chilli โ 1
Poppy seeds โ 1 tsp
Mint leaves โ one handful
Coriander leaves โ one handful
For Biryani:
Ghee -2 tbsp
Oil โ 1 tbsp
Cloves โ 3
Cardamom -2
Cinnamon โ 1
Bay Leaf โ 1
Fennel seeds โ 1 tsp
Onion โ 1 and ยฝ cup, sliced
Tomato โ ยฝ cup
Cooked chickpeas โ 1 heaped cup
Basmati Rice โ 1 and ยฝ cup
Water โ 2 and ยฝ cup
Red chilli powder โ 1 tbsp or to taste
Coriander powder โ 1 tbsp
Garam masala โ 1 tsp
Salt โ to taste
Lemon juice โ 1 tsp
Video Recipe:
Method with stepby step pictures:
1) Soak the chickpeas overnight and pressure it for 4 whistles. Once done, strain the excess water and keep the chickpeas ready for the biryani.
2) Soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes.
3) Grind all the ingredients given under grinding along with 1/4 cup of water.
4) In a pressure cooker, heat 2 tbsp ghee and 1 tbsp oil.
5) Add all the spices one by one. let all the spices crackle.
6) Add onion. Saute it well till it becomes soft and translucent. Saute till it turn in its colour.
7) Add the ground puree and mix well till the raw smell of it goes off.
8) Add the tomato. Saute till it becomes mushy.
9) Add red chilli powder to taste, coriander powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well.
10) Add the cooked Chickpeas. Mix well again.
11) Add soaked rice after draining the water. Mix it very gently and make sure not to break the rice.
12) By now, you don’t see any excess water in the cooker. Now add the 2 and 1/2 cups of water. if you see the rice mixture is bit watery(before adding water), then reduce the water quantity accordingly.
13) Add lemon juice at the end and Pressure cook it for 2 whistles. Wait till the steam to suppress well and then open the lid.
14) Fluff it using fork.
15) Serve hot.
Serving Suggestions:
It is served as a main course for lunch or sometimes for dinner. It can be accompanied by any raita and gravies.
Lunchbox Idea:
I paired this rice with carrot raita and egg omelette for packing it for lunch. It is suitable for both kids and adults.
Notes:
1) Use the water quantity correctly to get fluffy cooked basmati rice.
2) I pressure cooked the chickpeas first and then measured 1 heaped cup for cooking.
3) Immediately after fluffing, transfer the rice to a wide pan to avoid rice sticking to each other.
