Sprouted Chana Biryani

Sprouted Chana Biryani

Sprouted lentils or legume taken in any form are the healthiest form of food or superfood we can say! Many varieties of dishes whether sprouted chaat salads, snacks, or chana curry can be made with this healthiest gram

I too often make sprouted chana salad as an evening snack but yesterday evening I decided to make something different with this wonderful legume. I cooked this with rice to make biryani and to my surprise, this was the yummiest ever biryani. It  was aromatic and mildly spiced to serve with Chana Shorba which was left after boiling chana

I had two varieties of sprouted chanas (both black and white chana) as everyone knows about the nutritious value of this legume (you can take one type of chana at a time). This is the storehouse of protein and if the meat is for non-vegetarians chana is for vegetarians. I boiled chana and then marinated it with curd. The leftover boiled stock of chana was tempered to make aromatic Chana shorba to serve with the sprouted chana biryani

On to the recipe

Sprouted chana or chickpea – 2 bowls (both chickpeas 1+1 bowl)
Water for boiling chana – 4-5 cups
Long grain basmati rice – 1 and 1/4 bowl
Sufficient water to boil rice
Whole spices like bay leaf, cloves, green cardamom, and star anise  – 2-3 each
Curd – 1 bowl
Salt, red chili powder,garam masala, cumin powder – 2 tsp each
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Saffron strands or saffron food color – a pinch
Sliced onions – 1 big sized
A few cashew nuts

1- Add sprouted chana, water, and 1 tsp salt to the pressure cooker and boil for 15 minutes at medium flame

2- Add rice, water, and 1 tsp of salt to a saucepan and keep for boiling

3- When cooked 70% (boiled with 1 bite left) strain this with a strainer and keep aside

4- When chana is cooked, let the cooker cool down and separate chana and water with a strainer( chana water will be used to prepare chana soup/shorba to pair with chana biryani

5- Keep chana aside to cool completely
When cooled add curd, powdered spices, and saffron water( or colour )and mix everything to marinate for 10 minutes

6- Heat ghee in a pan and add sliced onions and cook them at low flame until they become dark brown. Also, roast cashew nuts with them and take them out to keep aside

7- In the same ghee add whole spices and stir. Now add half of the marinated chana as the 1st layer

8- Then rice as the 2nd layer

9- Brown onion  as 3rd layer

10- Again repeat the 3 layers

11- Cover the pan tightly and cook at a very low flame for 5-6minutes

12- Switch off the gas and let the pan at rest for 10 minutes
13- Your aromatic and healthy sprouted chana  biryani is ready to serve with Chana Shorba