all-in-one biryani

Tray of cauliflower and rice biryani. Recipe from Vegan Fakeaway book by Katy Beskow.

Recipe from Vegan Fakeaway by Katy Beskow (Quadrille, £15) Photography © Luke Albert.

This family favourite combines gentle spices, cashews, coconut milk and fluffy rice for an all-in-one dish that is ready in under an hour. I love the mix of vegetables used here, but feel free to use any vegetables that you have available at home.

Serves 4

400g (14oz) basmati rice

2 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds

½ head of cauliflower, broken into florets

10 green beans, trimmed and halved

2 tbsp frozen or canned sweetcorn

generous handful of cashew nuts

1 x 400ml (14fl oz) can coconut milk

1 tbsp medium curry paste (ensure dairy-free)

1 tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp dried chilli flakes

2 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced

generous handful of coriander (cilantro), roughly torn

generous pinch of sea salt

juice of ½ unwaxed lemon, plus lemon wedges to serve

get ahead

You can prepare the carrots, cauliflower and green beans up to a day ahead, then refrigerate for freshness.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/
gas mark 6.

Scatter the rice into a deep baking tray, along with the carrots, cauliflower florets, green beans, sweetcorn and cashews.

Pour the coconut milk into a jug, along with 200ml (generous ¾ cup) cold water. Whisk in the curry paste, turmeric, cumin and chilli flakes until combined.

Pour the spiced coconut milk mix over the rice and gently stir through to ensure all of the rice is coated.

Loosely cover the baking tray with foil, then bake in the oven for 45–50 minutes until the coconut milk has been absorbed by the rice and the vegetables have softened.

Carefully remove the tray from the oven and remove the foil. Scatter over the spring onions and coriander, then season with sea salt and lemon juice. Serve hot with wedges of lemon.