This Veg Gobi 65 Biryani is hands down one of the most fun vegetarian biryanis I’ve made! Crispy, spicy, and so full of flavour, if you love gobi 65 as a starter, then you’ll love what it does inside a biryani.
If you’ve made gobi 65 before, you already know how good those crispy, spiced florets are on their own. Now imagine them layered into a proper biryani with fragrant rice, a spiced gravy, saffron milk, and birista. I remember the first time I made this, I wasn’t sure the cauliflower would hold up through the dum, but it does! It stays crispy on the outside, soaks up just enough of the gravy, and adds this incredible texture that you just don’t get with a regular veg biryani.
I’ll be honest, between the gobi 65 frying and the biryani layering, it might look like a lot of steps. But most of it is stuff you’ve probably done before if you’ve made any veg biryani or even a simple gobi 65. The prep barely takes 5 minutes, and you’ll have the whole thing done in under an hour. It’s become such a regular in our house now that the kids ask for it by name, and getting kids to willingly eat cauliflower? I’ll take that as a win any day.
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Ingredients for Gobi 65 Biryani
- Cauliflower Florets: Blanched briefly in hot salted water and then marinated before deep-frying.
- Gobi 65 Marinade: Curds, ginger garlic paste, Kashmiri chilli, coriander, cumin, turmeric, curry leaves, sugar, rice flour, and cornflour.
- Basmati Rice: Use aged extra-long-grain basmati; it stays fluffy and holds its shape beautifully after layering.
- Oil: Any neutral-flavoured oil, like sunflower, for both frying the gobi and cooking the gravy.
- Aromatics: Onions, ginger, garlic paste, green chillies, cumin seeds, and fennel seeds for the base of the gravy.
- Spice Powders: Kashmiri chilli, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, garam masala, and kasuri methi.
- Tomato Puree & Curd: The backbone of the gravy is made up of tomato for tang, whisked curd for richness.
- Whole Spices: Bay leaf, dalchini, cloves, cardamom, and stone flower.
- For Layering: Birista, freshly chopped mint and coriander leaves, saffron soaked in warm milk, and a tablespoon of ghee to finish it off.
- Lemon Wedge: Added while cooking the rice to keep the grains white and separate.
Richa’s Top Tips
- Blanch the cauliflower before marinating. Just 60 seconds in hot salted water, no more. This ensures the florets aren’t raw on the inside once fried, without making them soft.
- Fry the Gobi on high heat. You want a crispy, crunchy exterior that can hold up through the dum. If the oil isn’t hot enough, the batter will absorb oil and turn soggy.
- Don’t cook the Gobi too long in the gravy. One minute is all it needs, just enough to coat. Any longer and the batter starts to peel off, and the florets turn mushy.
- Reserve a third of the fried Gobi for the top layer. This gives you crispy pieces on top when you open the biryani, which makes all the difference in texture and presentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gobi 65 is a popular South Indian starter where cauliflower florets are marinated in a spiced yogurt and flour batter, then deep-fried until crispy.
You can, but the texture won’t be quite the same. Deep-frying gives the florets that really crispy, crunchy coating that holds up through the dum. If you do air fry, brush them generously with oil and cook at 200°C for about 10–12 minutes, flipping halfway.
I would strongly recommend using fresh cauliflower here. Frozen florets release too much water and won’t crisp up the way you need them to for a gobi 65.
Storage Tips
- In the fridge: Store leftover gobi 65 biryani in an airtight container for up to 2 days. The cauliflower will soften as it sits, so it won’t be as crispy, but the flavour actually deepens overnight.
- Freezing: I would not freezing this one. The fried gobi loses its texture completely once thawed, and the rice can turn mushy.
- Reheating tip: Reheat gently on the stove with the lid on and a splash of water to loosen the rice. Avoid the microwave if you can; stovetop reheating keeps the layers intact and the cauliflower from turning rubbery.
Serving Ideas
You really don’t need much alongside this biryani, but if you’d like a side or two to go with it, these from the blog pair really well:
- Onion Raita: The crunch of raw onions and the coolness of the curd is the most classic biryani pairing.
- Boondi Raita: If you want something with a bit more texture on the side, this one adds that nice crunch and pairs beautifully with the spiced cauliflower.
- Smoked Baingan Salad: If you’re serving this for guests and want to go the extra mile, this smoky, creamy side takes the whole spread up a notch.
- Cucumber Raita: Light, refreshing, and barely any effort, perfect for when you want to keep the focus on the biryani.
Did You Know?
The ’65’ in Gobi 65 comes from chicken 65, the original dish it’s based on. Chicken 65 was first created in 1965 at the iconic Buhari Hotel on Mount Road in Chennai by its founder, A.M. Buhari. The most widely accepted story is that the number simply refers to the year it was invented, though over time, myths have piled on. Some say it was the 65th item on the menu, others claim it used 65 chillies, and there’s even a theory that the chicken was 65 days old. What’s interesting is that Buhari Hotel didn’t stop there; they later introduced Chicken 78, Chicken 82, and Chicken 90, each named after the year they were added to the menu. The vegetarian spin, gobi 65, came much later, swapping chicken for cauliflower but keeping the same spiced batter and deep-frying technique that made the original so addictive.
I never thought a cauliflower biryani would become one of the most loved recipes in our house, but here we are. If your family ends up loving it as much as mine does, come tell me about it on Instagram @my_foodstory; those messages honestly make my week.
Watch Gobi 65 Biryani Recipe Video
Gobi 65 biryani
Ingredients
- 4 cups cauliflower or gobhi florets / 320 gms
- 4 cups boiling hot water
- ½ teaspoon salt
Gobhi marination
- 3 tablespoons curds
- 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 sprigs curry leaves finely chopped
- 3 ⅔ tablespoons rice flour
- 4 ⅔ tablespoons cornflour
- 1-2 tablespoons water
Biryani rice
- 1 ½ cups basmati rice 270gms, soaked for 30 minutes
- 6-7 cups water
- 1 ½ tablespoons salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 inch dalchini
- 4 cloves
- 2 green cardamoms
- 1 piece stone flower pathar ke phool
- ½ lemon juice & wedge
Biryani gravy
- 3 tablespoons sunflower or any neutral flavoured cooking oil +3 tablespoons for deep frying gobhi
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 4 cloves whole
- 2 green cardamoms
- ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¾ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 ¼ cups finely chopped onions
- 1 ¾ teaspoons ginger garlic paste
- 2 green chillies finely chopped
- 2 ½ teaspoons kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 ½ teaspoons coriander powder
- ½ + ⅛ teaspoon cumin powder
- ¼ + ⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ½ + ⅛ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sprigs curry leaf
- ¾ cup + 3 tablespoons tomato puree
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon curds whisked
- 1 ½ cups water
- ⅛ teaspoon roasted & crushed kasuri methi
For Biryani
- ¼ cup birista golden fried onions
- 1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped mint leaves
- 1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves
- A pinch of saffron soaked in 2 tablespoons of warm milk
- 1 tablespoon ghee
Instructions
Gobhi 65
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Dip gobhi florets in hot water with ½ teaspoon of salt & keep covered for 60 seconds max, drain immediately and cool it. Once it’s cooled, add all the ingredients listed under marinade, give a good toss and mix well. Rest for 20-30 minutes so the gobhi absorbs all the masalas. Heat oil in a deep kadai or pan till hot, add marinated gobhi florets & fry on high for 3-4 minutes till they turn crisp. Keep stirring often so they get fried evenly. Fry gobhi in batches and set aside.
Biryani gravy
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Add 3 tablespoons of oil used for deep frying to a pot or kadai, add whole spices – bayleaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, cumin, fennel seeds and saute for a few seconds till they sizzle and get fragrant. Add onions and saute on low for 5-6 minutes till they turn golden. Add ginger garlic paste, green chillies, saute for a few seconds till the rawness goes, add spice powders – coriander, cumin, kashmiri chilli, turmeric, cardamom, garam masala & salt and saute for a few seconds. Add tomato puree, 1 cup of water and cook for 7-8 minutes on low till oil separates from the masala. Add whisked curds, 1 cup of water and cook for 6-7 minutes on low until oil separates. add ⅔ of fried gobhi and cook for a minute till they are coated with gravy. Do not cook more than a minute at this stage as the gobhi tends to peel off & turns mushy.
Layering Biryani
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Add 3 tablespoons of birista, 2 teaspoons of chopped mint & coriander leaves to the biryani gravy.
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Heat water in a pot, add salt, spices, lemon and bring to a boil on high heat. Drain the soaked rice and add to the pot and bring to a boil. Cook on high heat for 5 minutes just until the rice is cooked 70%. Using a slotted spoon, take out cooked rice and spread evenly on top of the gravy.
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Add 1 tablespoon of birista, 2 teaspoons of mint & coriander leaves. Rub the saffron in the milk to extract the flavour and the color and sprinkle evenly on top of rice. Add the remaining ⅓ of the fried gobhi on top.
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Heat a tawa and place the biryani pot on top and steam for 15 minutes on low and rest for half an hour before serving.
Video
Notes
- It is essential to blanch gobhi before marinating so they are not raw inside when they are fried.
- Use aged extra long-grain basmati rice for the most authentic flavor and texture.
- Lemon juice/wedge added while cooking biryani rice to ensure that rice stays white.
- Before serving, allow the biryani to rest for half an hour. Gently fluff the rice using a fork or a silicone spatula. This will help the delicate rice grains to firm up a bit, preventing them from breaking.
Nutrition
This article was researched and written by Harita Odedra.
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