ramyaramesh3007This home-style one pot aromatic Lion’s Mane Mushroom Biryani is loaded with warm spices, herbs and fragrant basmati rice, paired with a refreshing raita.
This is the one dish that I grew up eating and loved: Biryani. I remember the times my family and I would hunt high and low for the restaurant serving the best biryani (though I used to eat meat then). I was able to recreate the flavours of a dum biryani with simple steps like flavouring the mushrooms with a generous amount of spice so the rice is moist and aromatic.
This is a slightly more simple version of my Oyster Mushroom Biryani recipe as it’s mostly made in one pot – the pressure cooker. It makes you several portions, perfect for a family or friends’ gathering. You can also meal prep this and pack it with veggies and is versatile enough if you want to switch up ingredients to add more vegetables or protein to the dish.
Biryani is a rice dish made with layers of spiced sautéed vegetables, rice, and lots of herbs. In this case, the flavours infuse in the marination and pressure cooking process. It’s also a naturally gluten free dish but most you find at restaurants are probably not vegan due to the heavy usage of ghee.
What You Need
- Rice – I usually use long grain basmati rice when making briyani and that’s how it is traditionally prepared. You can use short grain as well (though some times it’s prepared in another method).
- Mushrooms – I use lion’s mane mushroom for this recipe to recreate ‘chicken’ biryani. You can also use tofu or chickpeas paired with other vegetables.
- Spices – Both whole and ground spices are important for this recipe. You can find the whole list of spices on my recipe card below.
- Herbs – Fresh herbs like mint and coriander are essential.
- Dairy Free Yogurt – a lot of times, yogurt is a popular addition when mixing the vegetables, you can easily substitute that with coconut cream!
You can pair this biryani with my easy 5-minute Vegan Carrot & Cucumber Raita!
Lion’s Mane Mushroom Biryani
Ingredients
Mushroom Marinade
- 2 cups lion’s mane mushroom
- 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp biryani masala optional
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup plant based yogurt / coconut cream
Biryani
- 1.5 cups long grain basmati rice
- 2.5 cups water
- 3 small red onions
- 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 green chili chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 cloves
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cardamoms
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander
Garnish
- chopped coriander
Serving
- carrot and cucumber raita
Instructions
- Wash lion's mane mushrooms and pull them apart into bite sized chunks. Air fry mushrooms for 5-10 minutes at 180C until firm and crisp. Mix the mushrooms with aromatics, spices, plant based yogurt and give them all a good mix. Marinate for about 1 hour – overnight for deeper flavour.
- Wash basmati rice until the water runs clear. Soak in 2.25 cups water which you will then use to cook the biryani later.
- Slice onions and chop tomatoes finely.
- In a pressure cooker, add enough oil to cover the base of the pot. Add whole spices and saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Add onions and saute until translucent and slightly browned. Add chopped tomatoes.
- Add powdered spices and fry until tomatoes are cooked fully, become mushy and the mixture and the oil separates.
- Add back in the marinated mushrooms and saute for a 5 minutes. Add rice and water. Mix well.
- Pressure cook for about 20 minutes on a low-medium flame. Leave it in heat for 10 minutes.
- Add chopped coriander and mint – give the biryani a good mix. Garnish with more coriander and serve with plant based raita. Enjoy!
Thank you for this interesting recipe. Please, could you give metric measurements, too? A “cup” of mushrooms doesn’t mean anything to me… How much of the cup is mushroom, and how much is air? How big is the “cup”? Thank you very much!