This Chickpea Pumpkin Biryani is easy to make, super nutritious and full of flavour. It’s so much healthier than ordering a takeaway, and is colourful enough to brighten up even the dreariest of days!
It can be enjoyed as a weeknight dinner, but is also a really handy dish to make if you have guests over, as it’s really easy to double or triple the ingredients and make a huge batch of it.
It’s also vegan and gluten-free, so it caters for a wide variety of dietary requirements too!
The nutty flavour of the protein-rich chickpeas pairs wonderfully with the beautifully tender and silky pumpkin, while the cranberries add little juicy bursts of sweetness and the flaked almonds and pumpkin seeds add an interesting crunchy texture.
I like to use kabocha pumpkin (a Japanese variety of squash) for this recipe, as it’s sweeter than other types of pumpkin or squash and has a softer, silkier texture. But don’t worry if you can’t get hold of it, normal pumpkin or butternut squash works fine too!
This Chickpea Pumpkin Biryani would be delicious served with a fruity salad such as:
Want more yummy rice recipes? You might like my
- Portuguese Tomato Rice
- Miso Brown Rice Soup
- Pumpkin Chestnut Edamame Risotto
- Yellow Turmeric Rice
- Thai Green Curry Rice
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
This Chickpea Pumpkin Biryani is easy to make, super nutritious and full of flavour.
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or sub vegetable or rapeseed oil)
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cm (1/2 inch) ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 heaped teaspoon curry powder, to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked Basmati rice
- 1 small pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into small cubes
- 400 g (14oz) tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- Handful of dried cranberries (or sub dried sour cherries)
- 1 vegetable stock cube (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- Handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
- Flaked almonds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Fresh coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
- Heat up the oil in a large pan
Fry the onions until soft and slightly caramelised (takes around 10 minutes)
Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, cumin, tumeric, paprika and garam masala and fry until fragrant
- Add the rice and fry for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently
- Add the pumpkin, chickpeas, cranberries and stock cube (dissolved in a little hot water) and enough water to lightly cover everything
- Bring to the boil, place a lid over it, turn down the heat and cook for about 15 minutes (until all the water has been dissolved by the rice and the pumpkin is soft)
Once cooked, scatter over the fresh coriander, and keep the lid on for another 5 minutes
- To serve, scatter over flaked almonds, pumpkin seeds and more fresh coriander
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Christina
Hi, I made this dish the other day and loved it so much. The only thing was that mine turned out a bit watery. Do you add the rice cooked or uncooked? Which exact rice do you use? Thank you so much!!
Rhian Williams
Hi Christina – thank you so much for your feedback, I’m so glad you liked it! I added the rice uncooked and I used white Basmati rice – what type did you use?
Christina
I used brown basmati rice, but cooked already – that was the mistake. I will use uncooked white basmati rice next time.
Rhian Williams
Ah okay, yes that would be better! 🙂 Hope it goes well!
Lauren Lore
Can you use quinoa instead of rice? And can you roast the vegetables to get more flavor from them?
Rhian Williams
Yes all those would work!