Henry's Biryani

Henry's Biryani

This is Henry's biryani and honestly, it's one of those recipes he's genuinely proud of. Fragrant basmati rice layered with warming spices, cardamom, cinnamon, and bay, it smells absolutely incredible while it's cooking. The kind of dish that makes everyone wander into the kitchen asking what's for dinner. We keep coming back to this one because it feels special without being complicated, and it delivers every single time. Make it tonight, you won't regret it.

Cook: 25 min
Serves 2

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 200°C
  • Saucepan with lid
  • Sieve
  • Sauté pan
  • Roasting tin
  • Kitchen paper

Ingredients

  • 8 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 200g basmati rice
  • 500ml boiling water
  • 10 cardamon pods
  • 7 garlic cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 cinnamon stick
  • 2 x 400g can(s) of jackfruit
  • 2 onions
  • 3cm piece of fresh ginger
  • ¼ tsp black peppercorns
  • 125g plant-based yoghurt

Method

1

First cook the rice

  • Rinse the rice under cold running water until the water runs clear
  • Drain and tip into the saucepan
  • Pour over 400ml of the boiling water
  • Add a pinch of salt, 6 of the cardamom pods, 4 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves and 2 cinnamon sticks
  • Turn up the heat and bring to the boil, stir once, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting
  • Put the lid on and cook for 6 minutes
  • Don’t touch the rice until the time is up
  • Take the pan off the heat, drain the rice in a sieve, then tip it back into the pan and put the lid on
2

Prepare the ingredients

  • Drain the jackfruit
  • Peel and thinly slice the onions and remaining 3 garlic cloves
  • Peel the ginger by scraping off the skin with a spoon and chop finely
  • Crush the remaining cardamom pods and the peppercorns
3

Assemble the biryani

  • Place the sauté pan over a high heat and add 4 tablespoons of the oil
  • Add the onions to the hot pan, sprinkle over a pinch of salt and fry, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes, until the onions are dark and crispy, but not burnt
  • Transfer to the kitchen paper
  • Add 2 tablespoons more oil to the pan
  • Add the remaining 1 bay leaf, the sliced garlic cloves, cinnamon stick, crushed cardamom and peppercorns and fry for 2 minutes
  • Add the jackfruit and roughly pull the strands apart with a fork
  • Fry for 2 minutes, stirring continuously
  • Add the ginger, chilli powder, ground coriander, cumin and turmeric and fry for 5 minutes more
  • Taste and season
  • Add the yoghurt and 100ml boiling water to the pan
  • Lower the heat to medium and stir for 2–3 minutes
  • Taste and season then remove from the heat
4

Bake in the oven

  • Layer rice, and filling into a roasting tin and cook for 20-25 minutes in the oven
5

Time to serve

  • Serve with our coriander chutney on top. BOSH!

Tips & Variations

  • Don't skip rinsing the rice: It sounds like a faff but rinsing until the water runs clear removes the excess starch and is honestly the difference between fluffy and sticky. Worth the extra minute.
  • Make it your own: Henry loves adding a handful of raisins and toasted cashews on top before serving, it adds a lovely sweetness and crunch that takes it to another level.
  • Spice it up or down: If you want more heat, add a finely chopped green chilli into the pot with the rice. If you're cooking for anyone who doesn't love spice, just leave it out, it's still packed with flavour.

Why This Works

The trick here is cooking the rice with whole spices right in the water, those cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, and garlic cloves infuse every single grain as it steams. Then leaving the lid on and not touching it is key, we know it's tempting but trust us on this one, that's what gives you perfectly fluffy, separated rice rather than a stodgy mess. It's a small bit of patience that makes a huge difference.