Green-flecked kodo and moringa sevai over a bright hara masala of mint, coriander and green chilli, sharpened with lemon and fried curry leaf.

Ingredients

From the TrooFoodz pantry

• Sprouted Kodo Millet & Moringa Vermicelli 360 g (2 packs)

Fresh

• Mint leaves 1 cup packed
• Coriander leaves with stems 1 cup packed
• Green chillies 4
• Ginger, chopped 1 tbsp
• Garlic cloves 5
• Onion, sliced 1 large
• French beans, chopped 12
• Green peas 1/2 cup
• Zucchini or chow-chow, diced 1 cup
• Thick curd 1/3 cup
• Cumin seeds 1 tsp
• Curry leaves 20
• Coconut oil 3 tbsp
• Salt 1 3/4 tsp
• Lemon 1

Method

1. Blanch the herbs

   Dip the mint and coriander in boiling water for 10 seconds and straight into cold. Blanching fixes the colour so the hara masala stays green rather than turning khaki.

2. Grind the hara paste

   Grind the blanched herbs with the chillies, ginger and garlic and almost no water, so the paste stays thick enough to coat.

3. Crisp the curry leaves

   Fry the curry leaves in coconut oil until they go translucent and snap, lift them out, and keep them for the top.

4. Sweat, do not brown

   Crackle the cumin in the same oil and cook the onion only until soft and pale. Browning here would fight the fresh green flavour.

5. Fry the paste hard

   Add the hara paste and fry on high for three minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens slightly and smells cooked rather than grassy.

6. Add curd and vegetables

   Lower the flame, fold in the curd, then the vegetables and salt. Cover and cook eight minutes until just tender.

7. Soak and fold

   Stand the Sprouted Kodo Millet & Moringa Vermicelli in hot water for 90 seconds, drain, and fold it through with the lemon juice and the fried curry leaves.

Why this works

Blanching the herbs deactivates the enzymes that dull green pigment, which is why this biryani keeps its colour instead of going brown. The vermicelli already carries a grassy moringa note, so the masala is built to echo it — pale onion, fresh herbs, lemon — rather than bury it under browned, roasted flavours.

Make it your own

• Zucchini → Bottle gourd Softer and more absorbent; add two minutes earlier.
• Thick curd → Cashew cream Dairy-free and richer, with less tang.
• Mint → Dill fronds Use half the quantity; more aniseed, less cooling.