Vegetable and bean biryani

4 Servings

Quantity Ingredient
1 medium Aubergine; cubed (large is better, though)
1 pinch Salt and black pepper
4 tablespoons Vegetable oil or vegetable ghee
¾ teaspoon Poppy seeds
1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
1 pinch Cayenne
¼ teaspoon Turmeric
¾ teaspoon Garam masala
¼ teaspoon Ground coriander
1 \N Red pepper; seeded & sliced
3 ounces Butter beans; cooked
2 \N Tomatoes; skinned, seeded & chopped
8 ounces Long grained brown rice; cooked with saffron
1 ounce Toasted pine nuts
1 ounce Raisins
1 \N Coriander sprig for garnish*

Place the aubergine cubes in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 minutes. Rinse the cubes and dry. Heat the oil or ghee in a large pan.

Add the poppy and mustard seeds and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add the cayenne pepper, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, aubergine, red pepper, beans, tomatoes and salt and pepper. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes.

Layer the rice and vegetable mixture in an ovenproof dish. Cover and cook in a preheated moderate oven (180~C, 350~F, Gas Mark 4) for 30 minutes. To serve:

Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and raisins. Garnish with a coriander sprig and serve hot.

* I've never used sprig of coriander - can't stand it unless it's ground coriander, from a packet! It's called cilantro in the US, isn't it? This recipe from Carole Bowen's book "The Vegetarian Cookbook", I think.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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