Name: Jackfruit Biryani
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Ingredients: 2 cups basmati rice (*soak in water for 30 minutes ); 2 bay leaves; 2 inch cinnamon stick; 4-5 black cloves; 1 black cardamom; 2 green cardamoms; 5-6 black peppercorns; salt; 2 500 g cans of jackfruit; 2 tbsp avocado oil (* sub neutral oil ); 6-8 strands of saffron; 3 tbsp plant-based milk; 3 tbsp avocado oil (* sub neutral oil ); 1 medium onion, thinly sliced; 2 inch ginger, minced; 6 medium garlic cloves, grated; 3 green chilis, whole; 3 medium tomatoes, chopped; salt; 3 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp ground cumin; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp garam masala; 1 tsp red chili powder; ¼ cup plant-based yogurt; ½ cup herbs (mint and/or cilantro)

This jackfruit biryani features saffron-infused basmati rice cooked with fresh whole spices, plenty of cilantro and mint, and juicy chunks of jackfruit–one of my favorite ingredients to use when veganizing a dish. Biryani is just rice, but it’s so flavorful, that it’s truly so much more than that.

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This jackfruit biryani features saffron-infused basmati rice cooked with fresh whole spices, cilantro and mint, and juicy jackfruit.

The first time I made biryani was this butternut squash biryani with tofu and mushrooms. My mom taught me the entire process and it was a labor of love, as biryanis often are, but so worth it. Although it was delicious, butternut squash is a bit of an out there ingredient for biryani, so I decided to make a more traditional version.

Enter this jackfruit biryani. I made it by myself for once, and my dad said it tasted the way biryani should taste. That is basically the best compliment ever because he’s more obsessed with biryani than most people. Like so obsessed that that’s basically all he needs at a restaurant. So if my opinion about this jackfruit biryani isn’t enough, take it from our resident self-proclaimed biryani expert. Though I guess I shouldn’t be too flattered by his opinion, because who wouldn’t love saffron-infused basmati rice cooked with juicy chunks of jackfruit, tons of cilantro and mint, fresh whole spices, and crispy onions?

What is Biryani?

Biryani is a one-pot meal of long-grain, saffron-infused basmati rice flavored with fragrant whole and ground spices and layered with a gravy. The gravy usually has some kind of meat, but in this recipe, we use jackfruit. The dish cooks on a low flame and when it’s done, the layers are slowly combined, resulting in this warm, gorgeous yellow-orange color.

There are so many types of biryani that its origins are often contested. I honestly have no clue what I would classify this biryani as, but my mom improved her biryani recipe after learning from one of her Muslim friends, so it might be Sindhi biryani. Whatever you call it, it’s delicious.

What is Jackfruit?

I really hope everyone knows what jackfruit is, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t because it isn’t commonly grown in some regions. It is primarily grown in tropical climates, so the only place I ever have fresh jackfruit is in India, where it is better known as kathal. Although it has “fruit” in the name, it’s actually a vegetable. In fact, some people even call it a “vegetable meat” because of its texture. Its production is inherently sustainable–far more efficient than meat production could ever be.

It grows on trees and it is a HUGE fruit. I have seen some pretty gigantic jackfruit in my lifetime. When it’s ripe, it’s sweet, but when it’s unripe, it’s pretty neutral in flavor. This makes it ideal for savory dishes like this one, because it absorbs whatever flavors you want it to absorb.

And it has plenty of health benefits! Fiber, vitamins, all that good stuff. I won’t go into it here, but if you want to know, this article is super informative. When you’re buying canned jackfruit, just make sure it doesn’t have added sugar or syrups.

Tips for Making This Jackfruit Biryani

Different types of biryanis cook for different amounts of time, some slower than others. As with most dishes, the slower the better, but I prefer to strike a reasonable balance, so this recipe is done in an hour. There is some prep time involved first though, so be mindful of that.

Make sure to soak rice for 30 minutes. While the rice soaks, prep the rest of your ingredients.

Pan fry the jackfruit. This is always my favorite method for adding tofu to a dish and it works perfectly for jackfruit too. If you’d like to go oil-free, I think baking could be a possibility, but I always find baking to be more of a hassle. The pan frying requires 2 tbsp avocado oil (or another neutral oil), 2 500g cans of jackfruit, and 10 minutes.

Boil the rice with whole spices. Make sure the water is boiling before you add the rice. The water should clearly be bubbling. This is very important for timing. Cook the rice until is about 3/4ths cooked, so this should take around 10 minutes. However, you will need to start checking the rice around 8 minutes in. Simply take a few grains of rice out of the water and use your finger to feel it. Drain the water and set the rice aside.

Cook the gravy. This uses your classic onion, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, and ground spices, like coriander, cumin, turmeric, red chili powder, and garam masala.

Add yogurt and jackfruit. When the tomato gravy comes together, add some plant-based yogurt. You may need to add some water at this step because you don’t want the gravy to be totally dry if it is going to mix well with the rice layer.

Add the rice layer! Make sure NOT to mix. Swirl the saffron milk on top of the rice. Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes. Slowly combine the layers and let it sit just a tad longer.

Crispy onions are key. You can fry them for tastiest results, but I just air-fried them. Crispiness was still achieved.