Bhatkal Biryani – The vegetarian version of the famous biryani from the coastal town of Karnataka – Bhatkal, with plant-protein – soy chunks. Check out the detailed recipe of this Bhatkal biryani with step-wise pictures.
When we talk about Indian biryani varieties, Hyderabadi biryani, Kolkata biryani, Lucknow biryani, Chettinadu biryani, and many other regional biryanis’ tops the chart, the Bhatkal variety of biryani from the coastal Karnataka is slowly finding its way in that chart. Bhatkal, also known as ‘Batecala’ & ‘Al Nawayath’ in some historical texts, is a port town in the Uttara Kannada District of Karnataka.
Honestly, I wasn’t aware of this biryani until 2018. While researching the biryani varieties, I read about this and decided to try it. Food exploration and research are what I like about this blogging marathon. Like the coastal Karnataka cuisine, this Bhatkal biryani recipe fascinated me. We add curry leaves to this biryani, and we serve this with the pickle. You read it right. Yes, curry leaves in biryani.
The Easy Pressure Cooker Bhatkali Biryani:
Like every other biryani, I found a lot of recipes for this one as well, but when I saw this one on the Hindu paper, I didn’t look any further. Its recipe shared by the owner of the famous hotel called Kwality hotel that serves Bhatkal biryani. You can read more about the biryani in that article.
I made this as a one-pot biryani in the stove-top pressure cooker. This Bhatkal biryani is one of the easiest biryani to make. If you are using soy chunks or paneer, there is isn’t any chopping involved either except for onion. It doesn’t include any grinding or marinating either. You can prepare this biryani in less than 30 minutes. Yes, I did not even soak the basmati rice. So now without any further ado, here is my veg version of the Bhatkal Biryani.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 green chili
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ cup soy chunks soaked in water for 20 minutes and drained
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1.25 cups water
Prep-work:
- Wash the basmati rice thoroughly and drain the water. As I mentioned above, I did not soak the rice for this biryani.
- Soak the soya chunks in water for atleast 15 minutes and drain the water. Squeeze the soy chunks and remove the excess water.
- Chop the onion and garlic and slit the green chili into two.
Steps:
- Heat the pressure cooker or pressure pan and add the oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, green chili, and the curry leaves.
- Saute until the onion turns translucent.
- Now add all the spice powders – ground pepper, coriander powder, garam masala, and turmeric powder.
- Mix well and now add the soya chunks, followed by salt.
- Mix again and add rice and water. Gently mix and close the pressure cooker lid and put the weight on.
- Cook the biryani for one whistle and turn off the heat.
- Allow the pressure the release and open the lid. Allow the rice to cool for 10 minutes and gently fluff.
- Serve hot with pickle and raita.
Recipe Notes-
- As always adjust the salt and spices according to your preference.
- Instead of soy chunks, you can include ½ cup of mixed vegetables or paneer or a combination. Adjust salt and water based on the vegetable quantity. (¼ tsp extra salt and also ¼ cup of water)
PS: If you try this Bhatkal veg biryani recipe, don’t forget to comment and rate the recipe. Also, follow my YouTube Channel for new video recipes.
📖 Recipe
Bhatkal Biryani | Vegetarian Bhatkal Biryani
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 green chili
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ cup soy chunks soaked in water for 20 minutes and drained
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1.25 cups water
Instructions
Prep-work:
- Wash the basmati rice thoroughly and drain the water. I did not soak the rice for this biryani.
- Soak the soya chunks in water for 20 minutes and drain the water. Squeeze the soy chunks and remove the excess water.
- Chop the onion and garlic and slit the green chili into two.
Steps:
- Heat the pressure cooker or pressure pan and add the oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, green chili, and the curry leaves.
- Saute until the onion turns translucent.
- Now add all the spice powders - ground pepper, coriander powder, garam masala, and turmeric powder.
- Mix well and now add the soya chunks, followed by salt.
- Mix again and add rice and water. Gently mix and close the pressure cooker lid and put the weight on.
- Cook the biryani for one whistle and turn off the heat.
- Allow the pressure the release and open the lid. Allow the rice to cool for 10 minutes and gently fluff.
- Serve hot with pickle and raita.
Notes
- As always adjust the salt and spices according to your preference.
- Instead of soy chunks, you can include ½ cup of mixed vegetables or paneer or a combination.
- Adjust salt and water based on the vegetable quantity. (¼ tsp extra salt and also ¼ cup of water)
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Bhatkal biryani sounds very interesting and looks delicious, never tried it before but I bookmarked your recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Pavani.
Wow.. great choice and love this new finding.. i love this flavorful and tempting rice with vadi. Love you earthen platter
Thanks Preeti.
Nice read Sri.. I dint know about this Bhatkal biryani ,so far… Will try this out some time!!
Thanks da. Please do try and I am sure you will like it.
Wow ! That’s a great find . Yes , I love these marathons for all the researches too . One learns a lot . The Biryani looks awesome and I bet it would taste equally delicious with paneer . Totally new one !
Thanks Vaishali.
I didn’t ever come across the name Bhatkal but I have seen biryani recipes with curry leaves, Srividhya. Sounds very flavorful. Bookmarked to try.
Thanks, Harini
That is an awesome find Vidya. The recipe sounds easier and looks fantastic.
Thanks Gayathri
looks so auhtentic and although I have seen a version with mutton / chicken this veggie version has me intrigued Vidhya ! bookmarking it
Thanks Kalyani. Please do try, I am sure you will like it.
We would have been saying ‘same pinch’ today as well. I switched from Bhatkali biryani to another one almost at the end. :) The rice looks so inviting and perfectly made, with each grain sticking out.
oh wow… :-) :-) I wish we could have said same pinch. Thanks a lot.
Love such unique finds and you are so right, blogging makes us learn more and more. The biryani looks flavourful and aromatic.
Thanks a lot Renu.
I love the spices used in Chettinad Cuisine. The Pulao looks amazing.
It’s the regular spices Sushma. Thanks
Curry leaves in biryani? Finally a biryani my husband will love :) Never heard of this one before Vidhya. Lovely pick and such a delicious looking pot of biryani you have!!
Thanks Sowmya. I learned about this biryani recently as well.
Wow that’s totally new for me srividhya
Fantastic find. And the recipe surely sounds fun with all those ingredients. Curry leaf is totally new hahha..very good pick.
Thanks, Valli. :-) Thanks mega BM, if not I wouldn’t have learned about the biryani.