Jackfruit Biriyani Recipe

Prepare jackfruit

If using canned jackfruit, drain, rinse, and shred the pieces into bite-sized shreds. If fresh, remove core and shred. Pat dry if very wet.

Cook aromatics

Heat 4 tbsp oil or ghee in a wide pan over medium heat. Add thinly sliced onions and sauté until soft and beginning to brown (8–10 minutes). Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté 1–2 minutes until raw smell disappears.

Add tomatoes and spices

Add chopped tomato and cook until it softens and oil separates (5–6 minutes). Stir in turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, and salt. Cook 2 minutes to bloom the spices.

Add jackfruit and yogurt

Add shredded jackfruit, slit green chilies, and whisked yogurt. Mix thoroughly, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 12–15 minutes until jackfruit absorbs flavors. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

Finish jackfruit curry

Stir in garam masala, chopped coriander, mint, and lemon juice. Adjust salt to taste. Remove from heat and set aside. The curry should be moist but not watery—if too wet, simmer uncovered a few minutes to thicken.

In a heavy-bottomed pot (the final dum/assembly pot), heat 2 tbsp ghee or oil on medium heat. Add bay leaves, green cardamom, cloves, black cardamom (if using), cinnamon stick, star anise, and cumin seeds. Fry for 30–45 seconds until aromatic. Remove from heat and set pot aside for layering the rice and curry.

Soak and par-cook rice

Rinse basmati rice until water runs clear and soak 30 minutes. Drain. Bring 900 ml water to a rolling boil in a large pot, add 1.5 tsp salt. Add drained rice and cook on high until rice is about 70–80% done (grains still have a slight white core) — typically 6–8 minutes depending on rice age. Drain rice thoroughly in a colander.

Prepare saffron

Crush saffron gently and steep strands in warm milk for 5 minutes to bloom color and fragrance. Stir in rose water to the saffron milk just before layering.

Fry onions, nuts, and raisins

Heat 3 tbsp oil in a small pan over medium heat. Fry the sliced onions until golden brown and crisp; remove and drain on paper towel. In the same oil, lightly fry cashews until golden and briefly fry raisins until they puff. Set aside for layering.

Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F) if you will finish in an oven, or prepare for stovetop dum on very low heat.

In the heavy-bottomed pot with the whole spices (from the tempering step), spread half of the par-cooked rice in an even layer over the spices.

Spoon the jackfruit curry evenly over the rice layer, distributing some of the gravy but not making it soggy.

Scatter half of the fried onions, half of the chopped coriander and mint, a few fried cashews and raisins, and drizzle half the saffron-rose milk over the layer. Dot with 1/2 tbsp ghee in small spoonfuls across the surface.

Top with the remaining rice to form the final layer. Sprinkle the remaining saffron-rose milk across the top, the remaining herbs, fried onions, nuts and raisins, and drizzle the remaining 1/2 tbsp ghee.

Seal the pot: if using a lid, cover tightly. For a better seal, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the pot lip then close with the lid, or seal edges with dough. Cook on the stovetop over the lowest flame for 25–30 minutes (place the pot on a heat diffuser if available). Alternatively, transfer to the oven and bake at 150°C (300°F) for 25–30 minutes.

After dum, turn off heat and let rest, sealed, for 10 minutes. Open carefully to avoid steam burns.

Gently fluff the biriyani with a wide fork or spatula, taking care to lift layers so jackfruit remains distributed. Serve hot with raita or salad.