Looking for a delicious and unique vegetarian biryani recipe? You’ve got to try this jackfruit biryani, which packs in the deliciousness of jackfruit along with the bold, rustic spices and the flavorful Basmati rice.
This dish is actually a great way to use up any leftover jackfruit that you may have, and transform it into a dish that you can make and serve for the entire family.
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Ingredients For the Recipe
You’ll need three sets of ingredients to make the jackfruit biryani.
For the marinated Jackfruit
- Jackfruit (cut into medium sized pieces): 2 cups
- Curd: ¾ cup
- Mint leaves: 8-10
- Fried onions: ¼ cup
- Carom seeds: ½ tsp
- Coriander leaves (chopped): ¼ cup
- Salt: 1 tsp
- Red chili powder: ½ tsp
- Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
- Biryani masala/garam masala: 1 tsp
For the rice
- Basmati rice (soaked for 30 minutes): 1 cup
- Water: As required
- Salt: 1 tsp
- Oil: 1 tbsp
- Bay leaf: 1
- Green cardamoms: 3-4
- Cloves: 3-4
- Cinnamon stick: 1 inch
For assembling the biryani
- Oil: 2 tbsp
- Onions (sliced): 1.5 cups
- Marinated jackfruit
- Cooked rice
- Biryani masala: As required
- Saffron milk: ¼ cup
- Rose water: 1 tbsp
- Kewra water: 1 tbsp
- Ghee: 2 tsp
- Mint leaves (chopped): As required
- Coriander leaves (chopped): As required
- Fried onions: ¼ cup
How to Make the Jackfruit Biryani
Got everything ready? Here’s what you’ll need to do next to make the jackfruit biryani.
Start with the marination for jackfruit. Take a bowl and add the jackfruit pieces to it. Add all the ingredients mentioned under jackfruit marination
Coat the jackfruit pieces properly with the marinade. Rest the marinated jackfruit for 30-45 minutes.
While the jackfruit is resting, start cooking the rice. Take a deep bottomed vessel and fill ¾th of it with water. Add the whole spices and oil and let the water boil.
Drain the water from the soaked rice and add the rice to this.
Let the rice cook until it's 80% done. Once the rice is cooked, spread it out on a plate so that it cools down completely.
Next, heat oil in a deep bottomed vessel. Add the sliced onions and saute.
Add the marinated jackfruit to the vessel and saute. Cover and let it cook for 15-20 minutes or until the jackfruit pieces become soft.
Keep sauteing in between so as not to let the jackfruit stick to the bottom of the vessel. Add water if the mixture turns too dry.
Once the jackfruit is cooked, remove half of the jackfruit mixture and keep aside.
Take half the rice and make a layer. Spread it evenly on top of the jackfruit mixture. Make sure the layer is about half an inch thick.
Next, add a layer of the remaining jackfruit.
On top of the jackfruit, sprinkle some biryani masala evenly followed by some saffron milk, kewra water, rose water.
Add chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves on top of it.
Cover the top with enough rice so that none of the jackfruit is visible. Top that with 2 teaspoon of ghee and some biryani masala.
Lastly, top it with fried onions, chopped mint and coriander leaves and close the lid and cook for 8-10 minutes on low to medium flame.
Serve hot!
Frequently Asked Questions
While jackfruit is the hero ingredient in this biryani, you can also add some other veggies of your choice to add more flavors and deliciousness to the dish.
Potatoes, bell peppers, carrots and tomatoes are some good choices. 
If you have any leftover biryani, you can allow it to cool down completely before moving it to an airtight container and refrigerating it.
The biryani can stay fresh for up to 3 days, and you can reheat it in the microwave or in a pot over low heat with a little sprinkle of water. 
Tips & Tricks to Make the Jackfruit Biryani
Ready to make jackfruit biryani? Here are some tips and tricks you might want to keep in mind.
- I would recommend using thick, full fat yogurt as the marinade. This will really add some beautiful richness and deliciousness to the biryani.
- If you want the biryani to have some extra tanginess, you can add some pureed tomatoes into the marination too.
- Remember to use jackfruit that’s a bit underripe. Using overly sweet jackfruit isn’t recommended, as it can make the biryani too sweet.
- You can also choose to top the biryani rice with some pan-fried cashews and golden raisins to bring some richness and a little bit of texture.
- To make the biryani a bit more spicy, add more red chili powder and some chopped green chillies into the marinade for the jackfruit.
- I would recommend using Basmati rice for the biryani, but if you can’t find it, use any other long grained rice for best results.
- Remember not to overcook the rice. Cook it until it is almost done, so that it is nice and fluffy by the time the biryani is done cooking, and the dish doesn’t turn too soggy and lumpy.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
This flavor packed jackfruit biryani can be enjoyed on its own for lunch or dinner. You can also take it up a notch and pair it with a salad or raita on the side, or even some Indian style buttermilk.
Enjoyed this hearty rice dish? Inspired to try some more filling rice recipes? Here are a few good ones to try.
📖 Recipe
Jackfruit Biryani
Ingredients
For the marinated Jackfruit
- 2 cups Jackfruit, cut into medium sized pieces
- ¾ cup Curd
- 8-10 Mint leaves
- ¼ cup Fried onions
- ½ teaspoon Carom seeds
- ¼ cup Coriander leaves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Biryani masala/garam masala
For the rice
- 1 cup Basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes
- Water, As required
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 Bay leaf
- 3-4 Green cardamoms
- 3-4 Cloves
- 1 inch Cinnamon stick
For assembling the biryani
- 2 tbsps Oil
- 1.5 cups Onions, sliced
- Marinated jackfruit
- Cooked rice
- Biryani masala, As required
- ¼ cup Saffron milk
- 1 tablespoon Rose water
- 1 tablespoon Kewra water
- 2 tsps Ghee
- Mint leaves, chopped as required
- Coriander leaves, chopped as required
- ¼ cup Fried onions
Instructions
- Start with the marination for jackfruit. Take a bowl and add the jackfruit pieces to it. Add all the ingredients mentioned under jackfruit marination and coat the jackfruit pieces properly with the marinade. Rest the marinated jackfruit for 30-45 minutes.
- While the jackfruit is resting, start cooking the rice. Take a deep bottomed vessel and fill ¾th of it with water. Add the whole spices and oil and let the water boil. Drain the water from the soaked rice and add the rice to this. Let the rice cook until it's 80% done. Once the rice is cooked, spread it out on a plate so that it cools down completely.
- Next, heat oil in a deep bottomed vessel. Add the sliced onions and saute.
- Add the marinated jackfruit to the vessel and saute. Cover and let it cook for 15-20 minutes or until the jackfruit pieces become soft. Keep sauteing in between so as not to let the jackfruit stick to the bottom of the vessel. Add water if the mixture turns too dry.
- Once the jackfruit is cooked, remove half of the jackfruit mixture and keep aside.
- Take half the rice and make a layer. Spread it evenly on top of the jackfruit mixture. Make sure the layer is about half an inch thick.
- Next, add a layer of the remaining jackfruit. On top of the jackfruit, sprinkle some biryani masala evenly followed by some saffron milk, kewra water, rose water, chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves.
- Cover the top with enough rice so that none of the jackfruit is visible. Top that with 2 tsps of ghee and some biryani masala.
- Lastly, top it with fried onions, chopped mint and coriander leaves and close the lid and cook for 8-10 minutes on low to medium flame.
- Serve hot!
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