Biryani is a fragrant Indian dish normally made with basmati rice, spices and either meat, chicken, or fish and vegetables, depending on the region of India.
To make a raw food version of this delicious dish I am using cauliflower "rice" and raw vegetable. As with other raw food dishes that aspire to mimic the cooked ones, the taste and texture can only be approximated, so why make it at all? Raw food lovers love to experiment with flavors and textures, and we also love variety. Raw food is not easy but it can be quite exotic. Why not try your hand at something very different today?
The amounts of ingredients I used will serve three to four nice portions if you serve the dish as a main course.
Ingredients:
vegetables
- 1 cups small cauliflower
- 1 medium large carrot
- 1-2 shallots
for the sauce
- 10 cashew nuts
- 1/4 cup purified water
- one 1/4 inch thick slice of fresh ginger
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 small hot pepper, seeds removed unless you like it really hot
- 2 soft medjool dates
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground caraway seeds or ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp powdered saffron threads
- 1 tsp biryani masala spice mix or garam masala
- 2 Tbsp culinary rose water
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 1/4 cup cold pressed flax seed oil or moringa oil, add more as needed
- generous amount of Celtic sea salt to balance the flavors
for the garnish
- 1 cup re-hydrated raisins
- 1 cup cashew nuts
- 1 Tbsp cloves (optional)
- 1/2 cup fresh mint and cilantro, chopped
Method:
- To make the cauliflower rice wash the cauliflower. Remove any outer leaves. Cut the cauliflower into large pieces and reserve about one quarter of it. Cut the cauliflower into manageable chunks and pulse blend to make the rice. Do not over process. You may want to squeeze out any excess moisture. Use a cheesecloth to do this.You should have 3 cups of rice.
- Make the sauce by blending all the sauce ingredients in a high speed blender. If you are not familiar with the spices, use tiny pinch of each spice in the beginning and add more as you go. Adjust the taste to your personal preference. Add more water or oil, as needed. You should have at least 3/4 cup of the sweet and spicy, very fragrant sauce.
- Prepare the vegetable: cut the remaining piece of the cauliflower into small florets; wash and peel the carrot and cut it into 1 inch long pieces, and each piece into matchsticks; peel the shallots and slice them into thin half rounds. If time allows you could mix the vegetable with some of the sauce and place them in the dehydrator for 2-3 hours. This step in not necessary to enjoy your biryani but it would create a slightly more intense flavor and it will give the vegetable a nice texture.
- In a large bowl mix the cauliflower rice with the sauce. Add the cauliflower florets, carrot matchsticks and the sliced shallots, and mix well. Add raisins, cashew nuts, cloves, and chopped herbs, and mix well. You may need to add a little more salt, some more lime juice or a little more rose water.
- Serve this fragrant biryani as a main dish with raw fig or raw apricot chutney, homemade achar pickles, pickled onions, and some cooling coconut milk yogurt raita. Enjoy it in good company!
Tip: If time allows, cover the bowl and place it in the fridge for an hour or so. Allow the flavor to develop.
Try my Raw Fig Chutney or the Spicy Raw Wild Apricot Chutney, my Green Blueberry Achar and my Spicy Raw Pickled Red Onions
In radiant health, passionately raw - Dominique
Dominique Allmon©2025