Ambur Biryani (with mushrooms)

This Ambur Biryani is a vegetarian version of the famous biryani from Ambur and made with white button mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, curd, herbs and spices. Ambur is a town in the Vellore district of Tamil Nadu and its biryani is very famous and usually made with meat. Make this vegetarian Ambur Biryani for a hearty weekend lunch or dinner with a side of yogurt, raita or vegetable salad.

I prepare biryani once or twice a month. Thus I like to try various varieties of biryani recipes. I have been wanting to prepare Ambur biryani for a long time. The famous Ambur star biryani is made with chicken or mutton. Obviously, since we are vegetarians, I have here used white button mushrooms.

Apart from mushrooms, you can also use soy chunks, firm tofu, unripe jackfruit or mix veggies.

Whenever I want to prepare a vegetarian version of a popular biryani recipe. Then I choose mushroom or jackfruit as they give a meaty texture and taste good also. I have also posted two more vegetarian versions of biryani with mushrooms.

• Chettinad biryani
• Dindigul Biryani

The Ambur biryani tasted very good. We simply loved it with a side accompaniment of onion and cucumber slices. It tastes so good that you do not need any accompaniment.

If possible use seeraga samba rice to make Ambur biryani. It brings out the real flavor. If you do not have seeraga samba rice, then use any medium or short grained rice but do not use basmati rice. Basmati rice won’t work well in the recipe.

I have adapted this Ambur biryani recipe from a Youtube video, where the ustad (master/main chef) from Ambur star biryani hotel has shown the recipe. The biryani is dum cooked. So some preparation is needed like cooking rice and preparing mushroom gravy. You can do this simultaneously too.

One of the unique ingredients in this recipe is red chili paste. For a less spicy biryani, do use red chilies which are less hot and pungent like Kashmiri red chilies or byadagi chilies. I used byadagi red chilies.

Serve Ambur star biryani as it is or with a side accompaniment of raita or sliced onions and lemon wedges.

How to make Ambur biryani

Preparing red chilli paste

1. Firstly rinse and then soak 4 to 5 dry red chilies in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes. Cover and keep aside. If you prefer you can remove the seeds before soaking them.

2. After the red chilies have softened, place them in a small grinder jar. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the soaked water.

3. Grind or blend to a smooth fine paste. Keep the red chili paste aside.

Cooking rice

1. When you keep the red chilies for soaking, then also rinse 1 heaped cup seeraga samba rice in water. Then soak the rice grains in enough water for 20 to 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, when the red chilies and rice are soaking, prep the other ingredients like chopping mushrooms, onions and tomatoes etc. Rinse or wipe the mushrooms with a clean and moist kitchen towel.

2. After 20 to 30 minutes, drain the water from the rice and keep it aside. Also bring 3.5 cups of water to a boil in a pan. When the water comes to a boil, then add the following ingredients: 

• 1 small tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
• 1 green cardamom
• 1 clove
• ½ inch cinnamon
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt

3. Bring the water to a rolling boil and add the soaked rice.

4. Do not reduce the heat and let the rice cook on a medium to high heat. Cook the rice without covering the pan with any lid.

5. Once the rice is ¾th cooked, then switch off the heat. The rice has to have some bite in the center when you eat it.

6. Strain the rice in a colander. You can even rinse the rice in running water, so that they stop cooking. Keep the cooked rice aside.

Preparing mushroom gravy for Ambur biryani

1. In another pan heat 3 tablespoons of oil. Keep the heat to a low and then add the following ingredients:

• 1 small to medium tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
• 2 green cardamoms
• 2 cloves
• ½ inch cinnamon

2. When the spices splutter and become fragrant, then add 1 cup thinly sliced onions.

3. Saute the onions on medium heat.

4. Stir often while sauteing them for even cooking.

5. Saute the onions till they start becoming golden.

6. When the onions start becoming golden, then add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste.

7. Stir and saute for a few seconds or till the raw aroma of ginger and garlic goes away.

8. Next add 1 cup chopped tomatoes.

9. Stir and saute the tomatoes for a minute.

10. Then add 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves and 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves.

11. Stir and mix well.

12. Now add 2 cups of sliced or chopped mushrooms. You can use white button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms.

13. Stir and mix the mushrooms with the rest of the masala.

14. Keep the heat to a low or sim. Then add ¼ cup fresh curd (yogurt). Quickly stir the curd while you add it.

15. Next add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and ½ teaspoon coriander powder. Both turmeric and coriander powder can be skipped. A reader had suggested that for an authentic taste of Ambur biryani, you can skip both spice powders.

16. Then add the ground red chilli paste. Stir and mix very well.

17. Add ½ cup of water and stir again.

18. Season with salt as per taste. Mix again. Check the taste of the liquid and it should taste slightly salty.

19. Cover the pan with its lid and simmer the gravy on a medium heat till the mushrooms are cooked. This takes about 7 to 8 minutes on a low to medium heat.

20. You should see some oil specks floating on top and the gravy will also reduce a bit.

Assembling and layering Ambur star biryani

1. Now in the same pan, add the cooked rice. I removed half of the gravy, so that I can make four layers each of the gravy and rice. Thus I layered with half of the rice. You can make two layers or four layers according to your preference.

2. Spread the remaining half of the mushroom gravy on the rice.

3. Now spread the remaining rice evenly all over. You can dot the top layer of rice with some ghee if you want. This step is optional though but I usually add the ghee.

4. Seal the pan with aluminum foil. Also heat a tawa or skillet on a low heat for 5 minutes.

Dum cooking Ambur Star Biryani

1. Place the lid on the pan. Then keep the pan on the hot tawa and dum cook biryani on a low heat for 30 to 35 minutes. 

If baking – then bake the biryani at 180 degrees Celsius in a preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Please remember to use an oven-proof glass utensil like the pyrex bowl for baking in the oven. You will have to assemble the biryani as mentioned above in the oven proof utensil. Cover with aluminum foil and then bake.

2. Give a resting time of 5 to 7 minutes and then serve the ambur biryani. There should be no gravy or liquid at the bottom of the pan. If you see some gravy in the biryani, then continue to dum cook for some more minutes.

4. Serve Ambur star biryani hot or warm with onion-tomato raita or onion raita and vegetable salad. It makes for a filling and comforting meal. You can also enjoy this biryani with plain yogurt.

The leftover Ambur biryani can be refrigerated for a day in an airtight container. While reheating either steam in a stovetop pressure cooker or Instant pot until lightly hot. Or you can opt to saute the biryani in a well seasoned skillet or pan.

If the biryani looks too dry then sprinkle some water and steam or saute.

More Tasty Biryani recipes

• Paneer biryani
• Veg biryani
• Awadhi biryani
• Kolkata biryani
• Kerala biryani

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.

This Ambur Biryani post from the archives (September 2016) has been updated and republished on 23 October 2021.