This biryani is made using brinjals or eggplants. I first saw this recipe on a cooking show and I remember jotting down the recipe in some random newspaper. But Knowing me I obviously just forgot about it and the newspaper was thrown out somewhere. Last week I bought these small eggplants from my nearest supermarket to make a curry out of it. But today I was craving for biryani and there was no protein stocked up in my freezer. So I decided why not use eggplants instead of my usual protein. This biryani turned out awesome. It finally satisfied my cravings! I did not even miss my protein when I was having this. So I decided why not share this recipe on my blog. So here it is.

To make this brinjal/eggplant biryani I have used small eggplants. You can also use the large eggplants, chop them into bite-sized pieces. I have also used jeerakasala rice here instead of basmati rice. You can go ahead and use basmati rice. The cooking of these two rice variety will vary.

How to Cook Basmati Rice:

Rinse and soak the basmati rice in water for 30 minutes. For one cup of basmati rice, we need 4 cups of water. Boil water in a pot, once the water starts to boil add cumin seeds, whole spices and salt. Add the rice and cook till its 70% done. Drain the rice. Keep it aside.

For jeerakasala rice, the instructions are given in my recipe.

Eggplant biryani can be served with raita, pickle and papads.

Do try out my other biryani recipes

Malabar Chicken Biryani

Egg Biryani

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Brinjal/Eggplant Biryani

Preparation time:15 min

Cooking time:45 min

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 4-5 servings

Ingredients

For Brinjal Gravy

• 750-800 gms small brinjals
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 1 cup yoghurt
• 1-2 tbsp crushed ginger (1 inch), garlic (5-6 large cloves) and green chillies(2-3, adust according to your taste)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 and 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 and 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp fennel powder
• 1/2 – 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 1/2 cup water
• salt to taste
• few coriander leaves, chopped
• few mint leaves, chopped

For Rice

• 2 and 1/2 cup jeerakasala rice/ basmati rice
• 2-3 tbsp ghee
• 1-inch cinnamon stick
• 3-4 cloves
• 2 green cardamom
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 and 3/4th cup of hot water
• salt to taste
• few coriander leaves, chopped
• few mint leaves, chopped

Instructions

1. Wash the eggplants, cut the eggplants in plus shape. Make sure there are no worms inside. Soak the eggplants in saltwater for 10 minutes. This is to remove the bitterness of the eggplant and to prevent the eggplants from turning brown.
2. In a bowl, add curds, crushed ginger, garlic and green chillies, and salt. Stuff this marinade in the eggplants. Coat the eggplants completely. Do not waste the marinade.
3. In a pan, add oil, sliced onions. Saute till the onions turn brown, add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, fennel powder and garam masala. Saute till the oil leaves the masala.
4. Add the marinated eggplant and water. Cover the pan and cook till the eggplants are cooked. Make sure that you do not overcook the eggplants. Add chopped coriander and mint leaves just before switching off the flame. Check and adjust salt seasonings.
5. For the rice: Soak the rice for 30 min and drain the water. In a pot, add ghee, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, cumin seeds.
6. Add the rice and saute for 2-3 minutes. Then add hot water.
7. When the water starts to boil add salt, chopped coriander and mint leaves.
8. Cook the rice on low flame till all the water disappears.
9. Dum Cooking: In another clean pot, add a layer of rice, add a layer of the eggplant gravy, repeat it with another layer of rice and eggplant gravy. Do this till all the rice and gravy is used up. The last layer should be rice. Cover the pot tightly with a lid.
10. Dum cook the biryani for 15 minutes on low flame.
11. Serve the eggplant biryani with raita.