I recently discovered a new Indian restaurant that makes some of the most perfectly-cooked rice I’ve come across in a few years. I pride myself on my own rice cooking abilities, and thus feel a sense of wonder when I see someone who is doing it so much better.
Part of the secret here lies in the use of high-quality long-grain Jasmine rice. I also wonder if they are using a rice cooker, although I think not. This vegetarian entree features a version of this rice, layered with raisins, almonds, fried onions, seasoned garbanzo beans, and fresh herbs.
Garbanzo Biryani
I recently discovered a new Indian restaurant that makes some of the most perfectly-cooked rice I’ve come across in a few years. I pride myself on my own rice cooking abilities, and thus feel a sense of wonder when I see someone who is doing it so much better.Part of the secret here lies in the use of high-quality long-grain Jasmine rice. I also wonder if they are using a rice cooker, although I think not. This vegetarian entree features a version of this rice, layered with raisins, almonds, fried onions, seasoned garbanzo beans, and fresh herbs.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sunflower seed oil (for frying the red onion)
- 3 red onions (finely-sliced)
- 1 Tbsp minced ginger
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 3 whole cloves
- 3 whole black peppercorns
- 3 whole green cardamom pods
- 16 oz garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder (or sweet paprika)
- ¼ dried oregano
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- 2 cups Jasmine long-grain rice
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp ground garam masala spice mix
- ½ cup dried raisins
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- ½ cup fresh parsley leaves (roughly chopped)
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves (roughly chopped)
- 2 fresh mint leaves (finely sliced)
- Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)
- Cucumber yogurt sauce (raita, or cucumbers + yogurt, for serving)
- Mango chutney (for serving)
Instructions
- Add the sunflower seed oil to a Dutch oven, and increase the heat to medium-high.
- When the oil is roughly 350˚F and hot enough for frying, add the onions in batches and cook until golden-brown in color.
- Drain the onions on paper towels.
- When you are ready to begin cooking, reserve two Tablespoons of the oil, and add the minced ginger and minced garlic, along with the whole cloves, black peppercorns, green cardamom pods, and drained (cooked) garbanzo beans.
- Add the Kosher salt, Kashmiri chili powder, dried oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder, and cook for an additional three minutes.
- Remove the garbanzo bean mixture from the heat.
- In a rice cooking pot, add the long grain rice and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear.
- Drain the excess water, and add three cups of cold water, along with the ground garam masala spice mix, dried raisins, and slivered almonds.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer, and reduce the heat to low.
- Cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook the rice for fifteen minutes.
- When the rice is 90% cooked, remove from the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
- In a Dutch oven or large oven-safe pot with a lid, add layers of the partially-cooked rice, fresh herbs, fried onions, and garbanzo bean mixture until you run out of ingredients.
- Bake the contents covered with a lid at 375˚F for roughly twenty minutes.
- Remove from the oven, and serve with some cucumber yogurt dipping sauce (raita) and some mango chutney.
Notes
This dish tastes great reheated and served as leftovers. The additional cucumber raita and sweet mango chutney complement the earthy and spicy flavors in the rice and garbanzo beans.