Few days ago, the Muslim people in the world celebrated one of the their biggest religious festival – Eid ul Azha. It is usually celebrated by sacrificing animal and sharing the meat with others. That’s why it is bit tough to eat something vegetarian, let alone vegan during Eid festival. But today I am sharing a vegan recipe with you which is eaten in my in-laws hometown in the morning of the Eid day. It’s called Chal Biriyani or Spicy Rice. Actually this recipe does not have anything to do with traditional biriyani, it does not contain most of the spices of biriyani. However it taste simple yet delicious and you can eat it with any veggie fry you like. I have learned this recipe from my sister-in-law, who is from same hometown (Kazipur, Sirajgonj). Many people cook the same recipe with beans but today I am cooking what I have learnt from my in-laws house.

The ingredients are pretty simple, rice of your own choice (I chose Basmati, but Polao rice would be perfect), onion, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder, whole cumin, green chili, bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamom, salt and oil.

First, wash rice with cold water 4 to 5 times. If you see the first picture on the left, how dirty the rice is! That’s why we Bangladeshis always wash rice before cooking. Then drain the water and let the washed rice sit on a colander, so that extra water leaves. This step is very important because if there’s water left, it would be soggy and hard to fry the rice.

Now add oil in a deep pot and when its hot, add whole cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf.

While onions are getting fried, take a pot and boil water exactly the double amount of rice. I have take one whole pot of rice in the picture, so I boiled two pots of water. You may think why taking an extra step of boiling water, why not using cold water. The thing is, if you use cold water, it will not cook the rice properly and take a really long time.

When onions are golden brown, add washed rice, salt, green chili, cumin, coriander and turmeric powder.

Now mix everything and stir fry the rice in medium flame, at least for 5 minutes. It will make the rice fluffy and taste better.

After frying the rice, add the boiled water. Turn water and rice mix it well, so all the ingredients are mixed well. Keep cooking in medium flame.

After a while, water get soaked by rice. However, it looks like the rice hasn’t cooked yet and you want to add more water. but DON’T do that. The rice has absorbed enough water, and if you keep adding more, it will be runny! So what you have to do is, turn the heat in the lowest flame and cover the pot with lid.

So I covered the pot and turn the heat in the lowest flame.

After 15 minutes, the rice looks like this. If you still think it looks uncooked, trust me, you don’t need to add any more water. The rice will cooked in its own moisture.

I fluffed the rice lightly and covered the pot again. I left the rice like this for 5 more minutes. If you are unsure, take a spoon and taste rice if its done.

This is the final look of the rice. You can eat them with any fried vegetables like Aubergine fry, potato stir fry or any of your favorite vegetable.

Recipe: 4 Servings Prepping time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 45- 55 minutes

Ingredients: 250 g of Bashmoti Rice Spices and Condiments 60ml Vegetable Oil 2 big Onion – Sliced 2-3 fresh Chili 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp Cumin powder 1/4 tsp Coriander powder 1 Bay leaf 1 inch cinnamon stick 2 whole Cardamom 1/4 Cumin seeds (Cuminum cyminum) 2 tsp fine Salt

Instructions: 1. Take a deep pot, Add oil and heat. Add cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf. After 10- 20 seconds, when they starts popping, add onion and salt and saute until golden brown. 2. While onions are getting sauteed, wash rice with cold water for 4-5 times until waters come out clean. Put them on colander to strain excess water. 3. When onions are golden brown, add washed rice, chili, salt, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder. Stir cook them for 10 minutes until the color changes and rice get crispier. 4. Boil water double the amount of rice. 5. Add boiled water and cook rice in high heat until water are absorbed. Check salt meanwhile and add if needed. 5. Turn heat to the lowest and cover the pot with lid and simmer for 20-25 minutes. 6. After 25 minutes, taste or check if the rice has cooked thoroughly. Turn off heat and keep the pot uncovered to leave out the excess moisture. Enjoy Chaul Biriyani with your favorite pickle and veggie fry!