Fragrant and tasty Nasi Biryani flavored with spices and rose or kewra water. This aromatic rice is the base for all your meat biryanis.
Several weeks back, I shared my Beef Rendang recipe with you. I mentioned then that I will be sharing my Nasi Biryani recipe as well. In that time, we suffered a personal loss in the family and my postings were delayed. I finally finished editing this video and I am pleased that I can share it with you today.
Nasi Biryani as it is known in Malaysia, is a rice dish flavored with spices and rose water. The word “nasi” is rice in Malay. This aromatic rice is the base for all your meat biryanis. It can also be served separately on its own, topped with your choice of curries. I much prefer the latter as any leftover rice and curries may be kept separately in the refrigerator.
Food coloring is often used to tinge the rice with specks of yellow and red. I prefer to use turmeric in place of food coloring. This can be easily achieved by mixing a little ground turmeric with hot water and sprinkling it onto the rice. Rose water is added at the end to give the rice even greater fragrance. I have some rose essence in the pantry and so I used that instead. Simply mix a teaspoon rose essence with a tablespoon hot water. More can be used for a stronger fragrance. An alternative to rose water is kewra water, found at most Indian grocery stores.
Fragrant and tasty Nasi Biryani flavored with spices and rose or kewra water. This aromatic rice is the base for all your meat biryanis.
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 large shallots (peeled and thinly sliced)
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise
- 3 cardamom pods
- 6 cloves
- 2¼ cups basmati rice (450g)
- ½ cup golden raisins (80g)
- 2½ cups water (600ml)
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp rose essence or kewra water
- ½ cup cashew nuts (toasted) (70g)
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In a medium sized pot, heat vegetable oil. Add sliced shallots. Fry until golden. Remove and drain on paper towels. Discard or reserve oil for flavoring other dishes.
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In the same pot, melt butter. Add cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom pods, and cloves. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant.
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Add rice and stir to combine. Then add golden raisins. Pour in 2½ cups (600ml) water. Bring it to a boil. Season with salt. Cover, reduce heat to medium and allow it to cook for 8 to 10 minutes until all water is absorbed. Reduce heat to the lowest setting and let cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
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Mix ground turmeric with 1 tablespoon hot water in a small dish. In another dish, mix rose essence or kewra water with 1 tablespoon water. Sprinkle both mixture onto rice. Fluff rice gently with spatula.
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Cover and allow rice to sit for 10 minutes. Garnish with fried onions and cashew nuts before serving. Alternatively, nasi biryani may be layered with your favorite meat curries before serving.
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
Beautiful biryani… would love to attack the bowl with a fork. 🙂
your instruction got written clove but the ingredient list did not list, may i know how much needed?
Sorry for the omission. You need 6 cloves and I have already added it to the ingredients list.
This is my second attempt to make the Nasi Biryani, we love this recipe. Thanks for sharing, and I am cooking it now for my gathering tomorrow.
the rice can cook through frying? no need to steam the rice?
Once you pour in the water, you are basically steaming it. Just follow the instructions and it will be fine.
All I can get here is rose water. I assume that it’s more diluted than rose essence. How much should I use to get the same level of flavor?
I would still use 1 to 2 teaspoon of rose water. The scent/aroma should be subtle, not overpowering.