Jackfruit Biryani is a very delicious biryani made with spicy and succulent jackfruit pieces cooked in tomato-onion gravy and layered with basmati rice.
What is Jackfruit
Jackfruit is a state fruit of Kerala and Tamilnadu, India, and grows in abundance in these states. Both ripe and unripe forms of the fruit are widely used in South Asian cuisine. It is often available as International food in canned and frozen food sections of the supermarkets. For vegetarians, jackfruit is basically a replacement of meat protein.
Why make jackfruit biryani?
When it comes to biryani, people often assume that biryani can only be made with non-vegetarian options. However vegetarian biryanis can also be prepared using ingredients like mushrooms, paneer, tofu, lentils, or mixed vegetables. Just like this jackfruit biryani, the succulent jackfruit pieces taste like meat. To make this biryani vegan, simply omit using yogurt, saffron milk, and ghee and use vegan alternatives of dairy products.
Ingredients needed for jackfruit biryani
The basic ingredients to make the biryani are listed below.
- Jackfruit: Fresh or canned, whichever you prefer.
- Spices: A combination of spices like turmeric, coriander, garam masala, red chili powder, and biryani masala to bring flavors in the biryani.
- Whole Spices: Cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves, cardamom, and star anise.
- Basmati rice: Biryani always tastes better when made with basmati rice.
- Saffron milk: To give a nice flavor and color.
- Tomato, Onions, ginger and, garlic: Adds texture and taste into the biryani.
- Yogurt: To balance the sweetness of jackfruit.
- Oil: For deep frying and making biryani.
- Ghee:-Adds nice flavor, skip if planning to make the biryani vegan.
How to make Jack Fruit Biryani?
Step 1. Cook Rice – To make any kind of biryani there are two steps. Cook the rice separately with whole spices, make the base masala, and set layers. So here also we need to cook the rice first.
Step 2. Deep fry Jackfruit -While rice is cooking, start deep frying the jack fruit. Once the jackfruit is adequately fried keep it aside.
Step 3. Make jackfruit masala – Now to make onion-tomato masala, heat oil in a pan, and fry onions until golden. Add ginger, garlic, and tomatoes along with spices and green chilies. Let the tomatoes cook until soft. Now add yogurt and mix well. Finally, add fried jackfruit pieces and cook covered for 15 minutes.
Step 4. Layering – In a heavy bottom pan, add the cooked jackfruit masala followed by the rice layer. Top it up with fried onions, coriander-mint leaves, saffron milk, and ghee.
Step 5. Dum cooking – Finally, cook the biryani on simmer (dum) so that the flavors combine with the rice. Gently mix the biryani before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this amazing biryani with raita, mint chutney, salad and pappadums.
Like this biryani, try these recipes….
- Soya Chaap Biryani
- Quick Carrot Biryani
- Quick Layered Vegetable Biryani
- Kolkata Style Veg Biryani
- Masoor Dal Biryani | Brown Lentil Biryani
Looking for more such rice recipes to get some ideas for your lunch and dinner ideas? Do not miss my Vegan Tex Mex Rice and Quick Carrot Biryani and the best one’s Veg Layered Biryani.
*If you ever try this recipe don’t forget to share your photos with me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or tag me on Instagram @cookingwithsapana using the hashtag #cookingwithsapana and stay connected* I would love to see your creations from my space!!
Jackfruit Biryani
Equipment
- Heavy Bottom Pan
Ingredients
For Jackfruit masala
- 500 g jackfruit/kathal pieces
- 1 cup yogurt
- 3-4 onions sliced
- 3-4 tomatoes sliced
- 4-5 green chili chopped
- 1/2 cup mint leaves chopped
- 1/2 cup coriander leaves chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
- 1 teaspoon garlic grated
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 2 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon biryani masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- salt to taste
- oil-for frying
- 2 tablespoon butter or ghee
- few strands of saffron dipped in 1/4 cup milk
For rice
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 4 cups water or according to package instructions
Whole spices
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 2-3 cloves
- 2-3 black cardamom
- 1 star anise
- 3-4 green cardamom
Instructions
Cook Rice
- Wash rice and drain rice.
- Cook rice by boiling in water along with whole spices and oil and keep aside.
Make jackfruit masala
- Boil jackfruit with a pinch of salt, and turmeric powder in water and sieve in a colander.
- Deep fry the jackfruit in oil.
- Now in a large pan, heat 1/4 cup of oil and add onions. Saute until golden and slightly crispy. Remove 2 tablespoons of onions for layering.
- Now into the pan add green chili, ginger, garlic, and turmeric powder.
- Saute for 5 minutes and add coriander powder, cumin seeds, and tomatoes.
- Cook until tomatoes are soft.
- To this add 1/2 cup water, jack fruit pieces, red chili powder, yogurt, salt, and sauté.
- Add coriander leaves, mint leaves, biryani masala and garam masala powder.
Assembling
- Now grease a big pot with ghee and add jackfruit masala and top it with a layer of rice.
- Sprinkle mint leaves, coriander leaves, fried onions, and saffron milk.
- Repeat one more layer of jackfruit masala and top it with another layer of rice, along with mint, coriander, saffron milk, and ghee.
- Cover the pot with a lid and cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Traditionally biryani is cooked by sealing the edges of the lid with dough and simmered.
Notes
- For best results always cook with Basmati rice.
- Instead of making alternate layers, you can simply cook one layer of jackfruit masala and top it with a single layer of rice.
- If using canned jackfruit, wash drain and fry, skipping the boiling step.
- Adjust the spices as per your taste
Nutrition
Always let me know how this recipe turned out in the comments below. I will be so excited to hear how you enjoyed your Jackfruit Biryani and please do share your tips and tricks with me.
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Best Regards,
Sapana Behl
Nice recipe, Thanks for sharing, I made this for my family. They liked it so much.