A fall version of biryani. My favorite traditional Indian rice dish, but make it butternut squash biryani! Fragrant and moist (it’s ok to say in this context) saffron-infused basmati rice with soft butternut squash, crispy tofu, and sauteed mushrooms.
Biryani is one of those things that holds special memories for me. Growing up, every time my family wanted to order from a restaurant, my dad would suggest biryani. I was kinda annoyed about it because I thought my mom’s biryani was way better anyways, so why order something that was better at home, right? And I’m always the one in the family who’s trying to push everyone to try new things––so much that we now refer to the “biryani mindset” as staying basic and in the comfort zone. Well, we definitely stepped out of the biryani mindset yesterday but with biryani, if you get what I’m saying.
My mom played a major role in the making of this recipe, so you know it’s good. I came up with the ideas and she told me how to do it; we’re quite the power team. It might sound like an odd combo if you’re used to more typical biryanis, but fear not, because this one works. And three whole people, two of which raised eyebrows when I brought this up, can attest to that.
The Rundown
I’m aware this butternut squash biryani looks like a laundry list of steps and ingredients, but most of the ingredients are found in your spice cabinet and there is some wait time in between steps to relax!
1. Boil rice in whole spices and soak saffron.
2. Cook onions, ginger, garlic, and tomatoes until mushy.
3. Saute tofu and mushrooms separately.
4. Add the spices, yogurt, squash, tofu, and mushrooms. I made this recipe plant-based by using Kite Hill Foods almond milk yogurt, but you can use any yogurt you want!
5. Add rice and saffron. Let it sit for a bit before serving. I highly recommend serving with fried onions and a ton of cilantro! We were out of cilantro, so I used a little mint here.
Vegan Butternut Squash Biryani with Tofu and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice soak in advance
- 5-6 saffron strands soak in a little almond milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4-5 black cloves
- 1 black cardamom
- 3 tbsp avocado oil *any cooking oil is fine
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste *pulse half pod of garlic and 1.5-inch knob of ginger
- 3 tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp red chili powder reduce according to desired spice level
- ⅓-½ medium butternut squash, cubed
- 2 tbsp almond milk yogurt *sub any yogurt
- 5 white mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 of an 8 oz. block of firm tofu, cubed
- extra onions for frying
Instructions
- Soak rice in water for at least 30 minutes.
- Soak 5-6 saffron strands in a bit of nut milk.
- Boil rice in plenty of water with bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, and black cardamom. Add salt when it starts to boil. Boil until it is about 3/4 cooked, so about 10 minutes.
- In a large saucepan, cook onions in 3 tbsp avocado oil (may sound like a lot but it's important to have this much!) until translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
- In a separate pan, saute mushrooms until almost cooked and saute tofu until crisp.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes. Cover for 4-5 minutes until mushy.
- Add all spices: coriander, cumin, turmeric, garam masala, red chili powder. Combine for 2 minutes.
- Add butternut squash and yogurt. Cover and wait 5 minutes. Then add sautéed mushrooms and tofu and cover. Cook for 10 more minutes, until squash is cooked.
- Take out half of what’s in the pan and put it in a separate bowl. Add half of the rice and saffron. Add what you removed from the pan. Add the rest of the rice and saffron. Cover and cook for 10 more minutes.
- Combine the layers well. Garnish with fried onions, toasted cashews, and a ton of cilantro or mint!
If you like this fall recipe, you’ll also love…
Coconut Butternut Squash Red Lentil Curry
Roasted Butternut Squash Farro Salad
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I made an oil-free version, used alot more tofu and then wild rice instead of rice and turmeric instead of saffron. And I found out I should have used half the amount of ginger.
A very delicious healthy dish!
So glad to hear that Briana! And I totally agree about those crispy onions 😉
I skipped the cardamom and tofu and I used ground spices instead of whole spices, but it still turned out delicious and had great flavor. I also used brown basmati rice, which made it less brightly yellow, but still tasted the same.
Don’t skip the crispy onions!
I made this for dinner last night and it turned out delicious! I used brown basmati rice, so it was super yellow. I also used ground spices instead of whole spices. I also left out the cardamom and tofu because I didn’t have them. But the flavor was still on point!