Rice

1. Wash the rice a couple of times, then soak in some water for 15 minutes. Pour the rice and water into a deep pot along with all the spices, lemon wedge and add around 6 cups of more water. Cook rice until its 3/4 cooked, it should have a slight bite to it. Then drain the rice, and scatter over a baking dish and allow to cool.

Crispy Aloo (Potatoes)

1. Heat oil in a pan, add the potatoes and a sprinkle of salt. Cook until the potatoes become crispy! Transfer potatoes into a bowl. (So you can use the same pan for the chole curry).

Chole Curry

1. In the same pan, heat oil then add onions and sauté until they're caramelised.
2. Add cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaves. peppercorns, green chillies and sauté for a few seconds.
3. Add grated ginger and garlic and cook for 30-40 seconds. Stirring often.
4. Add the pureed tomato and add all the ground spices. Cook for 5-7 minutes.
5. Add water and (drained) chickpeas, bring the curry to a boil. Then cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
6. Mix in the vegan yogurt, then the kasuri methi by rubbing it between your fingertips/hands.

Biryani Assembly

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 160C fan.
2. Once the rice and curry are cooked, layer them in a big enough dish.
3. Layer the biryani. Curry – rice – coriander – curry – potatoes – rice – coriander- curry- potatoes – rice, then some caramelised onions and coriander.
4. Cover with foil and bake for 35 – 45 minutes. Or until the Biryani is hot and the rice has cooked.
5. Allow to cool slightly and enjoy with some vegan yogurt!