Vegetable biryani, with lentils

One of life's minor mysteries is that I don't like Indian food. I like rice, I like lentils, I like vegetables and I like spice...but somehow when those things are combined Indian style, I'm not very fond of the result. I think the challenge lies in the nature of Indian spices, with my tastes being more aligned with Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese flavourings.

My lacklustre approach to Indian is frustrating because it is very easy to find. On holiday, it is often one of the easiest cuisines to locate, and one of the most reliable options for vegetarian choices. For this reason (and the fact that other people are fond of it, and sometimes one must go with the majority) I do eat Indian on occasion, but I am generally left feeling a bit, well, blah. 

When we were in Hobart, Tasmania, last year, we were keen to eat out for each of the four nights we were there. After self-catering for nearly a week, and having a few more self-catering days ahead (in smaller towns with few restaurant options), it seemed foolish not to take advantage of a city full of dinner options.

We had Italian, we had Thai, we had pizza, and then we got a bit stuck. The renowned vegetarian and vegan restaurant Siren's had closed. We had eaten fish earlier in the trip and didn't want it again. We also didn't want a meat-heavy restaurant. Indian kept re-entering our list of options, especially as Mr Bite is a fan.

So, Indian it was. Annapurna Indian in Salamanca Place to be specific.

Whilst pondering the menu, Mr Bite mentioned that his mother routinely ordered biryani at Indian restaurants. I'd never even heard of it prior to then, but the menu description sounded appealing. I thought I would give it a try. Thus, I ordered vegetarian biryani and a side of tandoori mushrooms.

It was the best Indian meal I have had.

It turns out I do like some Indian food - so long as it is biryani.

When pondering possible dinner options recently, I recalled this experience and thought I would try recreating biryani at home. There are plenty of recipes out there; my version ended up being an adaptation from Taste.com.au. To round things out, I also made a tomato-y lentil dish that is a variation of a dish I've made in a number of ways over the year.

Together, they worked rather well. And as Mr Bite and I both enjoyed the meal, I can see this featuring on our dinner rotation again.

Vegetable biryani

Adapted from this recipe at Taste.com.au

Serves 6 when paired with tomato lentils, or 4 as a main meal

(in other words, I made too much and half is now in the freezer!)

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Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice

3 cups water, divided

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tsp olive oil

1 brown onion, diced

1 garlic clove, finely diced

1 1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/2 large or 1 small eggplant, chopped

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped into florets

1/4 zucchini, chopped (optional; I added this because I was using zucchini with the lentils)

1 stick celery, finely sliced

1/4 cup currants

2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped, plus extra to serve

Method

Heat 1 1/2 cups of the water and the stock cube in a medium saucepan. Add the basmati rice, bring to the boil, and then reduce to simmer, covered, for ~12 minutes.

Whilst the rice is cooking, heat the oil in a large non-stick pan and saute the onion and garlic over medium to high heat until golden. Reduce the heat and add the eggplant, garam masala and tumeric. Stir; cook for ~2 minutes.

Add the cauliflower, zucchini and celery and 1/2 cup of the remaining water to the non-stick pan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally.

When the rice is just cooked, add it to the non-stick pan, along with the remaining 1 cup of water.

Add the currants and coriander and stir to combine. Leave over low heat for a further 5 minutes. 

Turn off the heat and cover with a tea towel (or a lid, if your pan has one) for a further 5 - 10 minutes. Re-heat before serving and serve with extra coriander.

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Tomato lentils

Serves 4 as a side dish 

Easily modified to taste and to suit what you have on hand

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Ingredients

1 tin lentils (you could, of course, use dried lentils, soaked and cooked in advance)

1 tin crushed tomato

~2 cups vegetables of choice, diced (on this occasion, I used 3/4 zucchini and 1/2 large eggplant)

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp tumeric

~1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Method

Heat the lentils and tomato in a medium saucepan over medium to high heat until starting to bubble.

Reduce the heat to low and add the vegetables and spices. Cover. Allow to cook for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, but preferably longer (to allow the flavours to develop).

All in all? I really, really enjoyed this meal. So much so that I could have eaten twice as much as it took to fill me up - the flavours were very more-ish. And that's not a bad thing, really, given the vegetable content.

I may be reconsidering my stance on Indian.

What are your thoughts on Indian food? Have there been any foods you once disliked but now enjoy?

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