This Recipe is part of the 5 No-Cook Dishes Raw Food at Home Menu
Biryani is a spiced rice dish commonly found in Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisines. The name comes from the Persian word birian, which in Farsi means “fried before cooking.” The base of the dish is usually basmati rice, which is often first toasted in clarified butter. Clearly we’re not frying or cooking . . . and certainly not in butter, clarified or otherwise. However, in our crafty way, we’ve created our own version using jicama and a variety of spices also found in the traditional version. Biryani usually comes with a yogurt- based sauce; ours uses coconut. We mix regular raisins and Himalayan hunza gold raisins, but you can use either by themselves. The leaves of kaffir lime are highly aromatic and add a more exotic flavor to the sauce, but if you don’t have any, they’re fine to omit.
Equipment
High-speed blender, food processor
Vegetables
3 cups zucchini, cut into thin half moons
3 cups carrots, peeled and sliced thin on a bias
3 cups cauliflower florets, thinly sliced
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons sea salt
Directions
1. Place the vegetables in a mixing bowl, and toss with enough olive oil so the mix is lightly
coated. Season with sea salt.
2. Spread on a Teflex-lined tray and dehydrate for 1 to 3 hours, or until the vegetables are softened. The exact length of time will depend on how thick or thin you slice the vegetables, so it’s a good idea to try to slice them uniformly. Alternately, you can season the vegetables separately and put each on its own tray so that you might remove them at different times.
Jicama “Rice”
6 cups peeled and chopped jicama
1 cup pistachio nuts
3/4 cup almonds
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup almond oil
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 large knob of ginger, peeled and diced
1 handful cilantro leaves, minced
3 jalapeños, seeded and minced
1/2 small yellow onion, peeled and minced
1 handful hunza golden raisins
1 handful black raisins
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Place the jicama in a food processor and pulse until the pieces resemble grains of rice.
In batches, wrap the jicama in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out any excess liquid.
Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
2. Place the pistachio nuts and almonds in the food processor and pulse until ground into crumbs. Add to the bowl with the jicama.
3. In a high-speed blender, combine the olive and almond oils, coriander, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, and ginger. Blend until thoroughly combined.
4. Pour the oil and spice mixture over the jicama and the nuts.
5. Add all the remaining ingredients. With a large spoon, mix well, seasoning to taste with plenty of salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
Coconut-Curry Sauce
2 cups young coconut meat
1-1/2 cups filtered water
1 tablespoon coconut butter/oil (optional)
1 thumb-size knob of ginger, peeled and diced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 bird’s-eye chili peppers or other small red chilis, with seeds
1 tablespoon kaffir lime powder * (optional)
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Puree all the ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Add more water as needed for a soupy consistency. Season with additional salt, as desired, and freshly ground black pepper.
* To make kaffir lime powder, place kaffir lime leaves in a dehydrator overnight until completely dried, then pulverize them in batches in a spice grinder or coffee grinder. The powder will keep in a covered container for months, like any other spice, and is a nice garnish to have on hand.
To Serve
Cilantro leaves or microgreens, for garnish
1. Place a 2-1/2 - to 3-inch ring mold in the center of a coupe or other wide, shallow bowl and fill with rice mixture, packing it with the back of a spoon. Before removing the ring mold, carefully arrange the cauliflower, zucchini, and carrots on top. Gently remove the ring mold and pour the curry sauce around the sides. Garnish with cilantro or microgreens.
Serves 6 to 8
Excerpted from Living Raw Food by Sarma Melngailis. Copyright © 2009 by 77 Lucky Cows, Inc. Excerpted by permission of HarperCollins. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the book now.