Today I am going to share another famous biryani recipe from the Palakkad area – it is the Rawther biryani, of course, the vegetarian version made in the pressure cooker. Check out the lip-smacking Rawther biryani recipe made with simple ingredients.
You don’t need exotic ingredients to make a delicious recipe. This Rawther biryani is all about that. Call it Coimbatore biryani or Palakkadan biryani or Palakkad biryani or Rawther biryani – all you need is some simple and local ingredients to make this exotic dish. Just look at the ingredient list, and you will agree.
Jeerakasala Rice | Kaima Rice:
Jeerakasala or the Kaima is another rice variety very similar to the Seeraga samba variety which is popular in Kerala. It is widely used for the Rawther biryani and the Malabar or the Thalaserry biryani (recipe coming soon) recipes. This rice variety is grown in the Wayanad region of Kerala.
Even though this rice is available locally here in Indian groceries (believe me folks, Bay Area groceries have all varieties of rice. ) and on Amazon, I ended up using my Seeraga Samba rice. I have a bag full of Gobind Bhog and Seeraga Samba, and I didn’t want to buy one more bag of this and shop owner also mentioned Jeerakasala tastes more like seeraga samba, so I went with that. But I am sure; I will buy Jeerakasala as soon as I am done my other two rice bags and I will try this biryani with Jeerakasala rice.
Rawther Biryani:
This biryani is famous in the Rawther Muslim community in the Palakkad district, and Coimbatore Districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu states. But these days it is getting quite popular outside these two districts as well.
There are many version with meat and chicken, and traditionally it is served with a non-veg gravy called kaichar and melon halwa. I made the vegetarian version of the biryani and served it with my veg salna and raita. :-)
I learned a lot about this biryani from the Dubai Delicacy and the Cookpad sites but adapted my version from the cookpad site.
Now without any further ado, here is my vegetarian version of the Rawther biryani.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp ghee
- One onion
- Five shallots
- ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
- Two green chilies
- 1 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
- Ten mint leaves
- One tomato
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 cup mixed vegetables – I used carrots, cauliflower, peas, green beans and potatoes
- Ten soy chunks soaked in hot water for about 15 minutes and drained.
- 1 cup Jeerakasaala rice soak in water for about 15 minutes
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 1.25 cups water
Prep-Work:
- Chop the onion, peel the shallots and cut them into halves.
- Cut the veggies, tomatoes and slit the green chilies into two.
- Wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes and drain the water.
- Soak the soya chunks in water for 15 minutes and drain it. Squeeze the soy chunks and remove as much water as you can.
Steps:
- Heat the pressure cooker or pressure pan and add the ghee.
- Let the ghee melt and then add the chopped onion, shallots, ginger-garlic paste, and the slit green chilies. Cook until the onions turn soft and tender.
- Then add the mint leaves and cilantro. Cook until they wilt or for a minute over medium heat.
- Next add the chopped tomato and the spices – red chili powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, and salt — Cook for two minutes.
- Now add the veggies and soy chunks. Mix thoroughly and cook for two more minutes.
- Then add the rice, water and also the lemon juice. Mix gently and make sure to scrape the bottom.
- Close the pressure cooker lid and put the weight on.
- Cook for one whistle and after one whistle, reduce the heat to low(on a number scale it is 2) and cook for 5 minutes. Then turn off the heat.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally. After opening the pressure cooker lid, allow the rice to cool for 5 minutes.
- Serve hot with raita and kuruma or salna.
Recipe Notes-
- Adjust the spices according to your preference.
- I went with a minimal amount of lemon juice; you can add up to 1.5 tsps for this biryani or skip the lemon juice and add one more tomato.
- If you can source Jeerakasala rice, then go for that. If you can’t source both jeerakasala and the seeraga samba rice, then use basmati rice. The taste will be different though.
- If you are using basmati rice, turn off the heat after one whistle — no need to cook over low heat for five mts.
- If using Instant pot, then cook the rice for 3 minutes over high pressure and release the pressure after 5 minutes like in Ambur biryani.
📖 Recipe
Rawther Veg Biryani | Palakkad Style
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ghee unmelted
- 1 onion chopped
- 5 shallots peeled and chopped
- ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 green chilies slit
- 1 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
- 10 mint leaves
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 cup mixed vegetables I used carrots cauliflower, peas, green beans and potatoes
- 10 soy chunks soaked in hot water for about 15 minutes and drained.
- 1 cup Jeerakasaala rice soaked in water for about 15 minutes and drained
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 1.25 cups water
Instructions
Prep-Work:
- Chop the onion, peel the shallots and cut them into halves.
- Cut the veggies, tomatoes and slit the green chilies into two.
- Wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes and drain the water.
- Soak the soya chunks in water for 15 minutes and drain it. Squeeze the sou chunks and remove as much water as you can.
Steps:
- Heat the pressure cooker or pressure pan and add the ghee.
- Let the ghee melt and then add the chopped onion, shallots, ginger-garlic paste, and the slit green chilies. Cook until the onions turn soft and tender.
- Then add the mint leaves and cilantro. Cook until they wilt or for a minute over medium heat.
- Next add the chopped tomato and the spices - red chili powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, and salt — Cook for two minutes.
- Now add the veggies and soy chunks. Mix thoroughly and cook for two more minutes.
- Then add the rice, water and also the lemon juice. Mix gently and make sure to scrape the bottom.
- Close the pressure cooker lid and put the weight on.
- Cook for one whistle and after one whistle, reduce the heat to low(on a number scale it is 2) and cook for 5 minutes. Then turn off the heat.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally. After opening the pressure cooker lid, allow the rice to cool for 5 minutes.
- Serve hot with raita and kuruma or salna.
Notes
- Adjust the spices according to your preference.
- I went with a minimal amount of lemon juice; you can add up to 1.5 tsps for this biryani or skip the lemon juice and add one more tomato.
- If you can source Jeerakasala rice, then go for that. If you can't source both jeerakasala and the seeraga samba rice, then use basmati rice. The taste will be different though.
- If you are using basmati rice, turn off the heat after one whistle — no need to cook over low heat for five mts.
- If using Instant pot, then cook the rice for 3 minutes over high pressure and release the pressure after 5 minutes like in Ambur biryani.
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.
Thanx a lot. Wil try today. Quantity of rice not seen mentioned
It’s 1 cup. I have mentioned it both in recipe card and in the post – 1 cup jeerakasala rice. You can use basmati or seeraga samba as well.
Looks quite tempting!! Never had this biryani..I too agree that the quality f rice does make a difference in pulaos and biryanis..though I never used anything other than basmati ;)
I usually get seeraga samba, but during this marathon, I tried different rice varieties. They are all amazing.
Looks quite tempting!! Never had this biryani..The whole spread with
Another delicious biryani and it looks so yum. I too have a few varities of rice now and one variety I did not even cook uptil now but bought it for BM. hopefully soon.
Thanks Renu. Just start cooking with them whenever you can.
Wow the name is new for me Srividhya, Rawther biryani sounds awesome and yes will surely bookmark this for later! Having different rice variety and wanting to complete it is really a tough task.
Tell me about the rice varieties!!! Thanks much Valli. Came across this biryani while exploring for this BM.
That is a fantastic biryani. I have heard of rather biryani, but never tried it. Your adaptation into a veg biryani looks so delicious..
Thanks, Gayathri.
OMG! What a rare find, Srividhya. I agree with Vaishali. With my bookmarks in this series, I am ready to do another biryani festival :)
So true. Thanks Harini.
Veg version of Rawther biryani sounds interesting. I would like to try withnon veg sometime.
Please do try Sushma. I am sure you will love it.
Totally understand.. buying rice of BM and we end up creating so many dishes to finish up the rice…I faced many a times… Should try this rawther version of biryani soon..it’s totally versatile..
Thanks, Sharmi.
I guess I missed it while searching for biryani recipes. :) Your veg version Rawther biryani sounds really delicious, cooked with that flavorful base. And melon halwa is to round off a delicious meal? :)
Thanks much Suma… Luckily I read about it somewhere and noted it down. I didn’t make the melon halwa though… Maybe later and you know when… ;-)
An excellent one pot meal ! T has everything in it and sounds so wholesome . The rice variety for a particular recipe does make a difference and let’s not talk of rice bags ! Seriously I have so many different varieties that I can actually do another rice marathon and yet would be stocked !
Agree, the rice variety makes a huge difference. :-) Lol about rice bags.