At this time of year after the excesses of the festive period I always feel like more vegetarian food and as my husband loves curries I’ve been making this biryani. I also get frequent requests from visitors to my website for more vegetarian low FODMAP recipes. Biryanis would usually contain onion but I’ve used asafoetida instead which gives a cooked onion flavour when used sparingly and fried in oil. If you don’t have asafoetida try substituting finely sliced chives stirred through at the end. I’ve included peas in the recipe as they add a nice burst of sweetness and at 1 tablespoon per portion is within FODMAP limits.
More inspiration for – low FODMAP vegetarian meals
- 100g basmati rice
- 1 medium potato, cut into thin battons
- 1 medium carrot, cut into thin battons
- A handful of green beans, halved
- 2 tablespoons frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon asafoetida
- 2 cardamom pods, bruised
- 2 cloves
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ red pepper, diced
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finley diced
- 1 thumb size piece of ginger, finely grated
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (check the label to ensure there is no added onion or garlic )
- A handful of fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper to season
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- Raita Ingredients
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- 3 tablespoons natural yoghurt (the FODMAP limit for lactose is 2 tablespoons yoghurt per portion)
- Approximately 8cm cucumber, skinned, de-seeded and finley diced
- A small handful of fresh mint and coriander (cilantro) leaves, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to season
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C (400F, gas 6)
- Rinse the basmati rice, place it in a pan with boiling water and cook for approximately 8 minutes until al-dente or almost cooked, drain then set aside
- Place the potato, carrot and green beans in another pan of boiling water and cook for 5-10 minutes until just cooked (this will depend on how thick the potato and carrot have been cut), add the frozen peas to the water just to defrost them then drain and set aside
- Meanwhile heat the oil in a medium frying pan and add the asafoetida followed by the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and cumin seeds
- Add the red pepper, chilli and ginger, cook for 5 minutes until softened then stir through the turmeric and garam masala followed by the remaining cooked vegetables and rice then season to taste
- Transfer to an oven proof dish, cover tightly with foil and cook in the oven for 20 minutes until the rice is cooked through
- To make the raita, prepare the ingredients then mix together
- Sprinkle the chopped coriander over the biryani and serve with raita
Clare Falconer-Flint says
Just tried this for the family and we loved it. Added tofu just before putting it in the oven and it took on all the flavours. Will definitely make again.
Louisa Reid says
Good idea adding the tofu for a bit of extra protein. I’m glad the family enjoyed it too!
Moira says
This looks really nice. New to this,trying to find nice veggie recipes. I’m going to try it. Do you really need cinnamon sticks and cardomon or will just powder do?
Also I’ve got brown rice. Can I eat that on fodmap. I suppose basmati rice is nicer. Does it have the fibre of brown?
Thank you
Louisa Reid says
Hi Moira, I’m sure the powdered cinnamon and cardamom will work fine. Brown rice is higher in fibre than basmati and is fine on the low FODMAP diet, the texture will be a bit different and will need longer cooking but give it a go.
Maureen says
Thank you for posting a low FODMAP recipe! Very helpful and sounds delicious. Just want to give you a heads up, though, that the low FODMAP list I’ve been given prohibits peas as they are high in fructans/GOS. Thanks again!
Maureen says
Ahhh, just finished reading through your recipe intro in which you specifically state the info about the peas. My apologies!!
Louisa Reid says
No problem Maureen, I hope you enjoy it!