Soya keema biryani recipe – Biryani recipe made with textured soya protein i.e soya chunks or soya keema / granules. Biryani is a classic rice dish from the Mughal cuisine made mostly with meat and fragrant rice. Today I am sharing a quick biryani recipe that can be made in a jiffy without using meat. This soya keema biryani is made similar to the mutton or chicken keema biryani from the hyderabadi cuisine.

In any meat biryani recipe, the very purpose of using curd is to tenderize the meat. In vegetarian biryani recipes one can avoid using curd and use lemon juice just before serving to get the mild tang.

This soya keema biryani just happened on a day when we were longing to eat a spicy biryani without meat. It turned out delicious with all the flavors of a meat biryani since I used meat masala along with garam masala. However you can just skip using meat masala if you do not have it and use only biryani masala powder.

I have used matar / green peas in this recipe and they add a mild sweet flavor to the biryani. You can also skip them if you do not have and can add a handful of cashews to add some richness.

Many readers ask me what kind of soya I use in my recipes, so sharing a pic of what I use. I use organic soya granules from Bob’s Red mill, however you can also use soya nuggets or chunks to make the recipe. Soak them in boiling water for sometime. Rinse and squeeze off the frothy liquid. Repeat rinsing and squeezing. Pulse a few times in the mixer to get soya keema.