Baloo’s Biryani ~ Recipe Inspired by Disney’s THE JUNGLE BOOK! ~ #JungleBook

I was provided the trailer as a blogger for Walt Disney Publications. I did not receive financial compensation for my recipe post.Back in September, I shared with you the brand new official trailer for Disney’s THE JUNGLE BOOK!! Aside from Marvel’s CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, this is definitely probably one of the movies I’m most excited to see. As a kid, I loved watching the cartoon that told the tale of Mowgli has he grew up among the animals in the Indian jungle.

I loved what Disney did with the live action version of CINDERELLA, and I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am for their live action remake of BEAUTY & THE BEAST, which is my FAVORITE Disney Classic of ALL TIME!

Inspired by THE JUNGLE BOOK, I’ve been trying my hand at Indian cuisine. One of the first recipes I cooked up for my family was biryani, which is an Indian mixed rice dish, filled with spices and meat or vegetables. I had made it with chicken, but the second time around I actually decided to make it with fish!

Now Baloo the Bear is probably one of the most iconic characters of THE JUNGLE BOOK. And what do bears eat? Fish! Though salmon is not native to Indian, I chose to use it for this tutorial. Check out below my easy tutorial for Baloo’s Biryani!

Ingredients

1 box/package of Basmati rice, usually 200g or 8 oz
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 shallots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tbsp of minced garlic
2 tsp of ginger
2 salmon fillets, cut into chunks
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of nutmeg
2 tsp of ground coriander
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground turmeric
3/4 cup of plain yogurt
2 tsp of sugar
4 handfuls raisins

Directions for Baloo’s Biryani

First you’ll want to cook the rice as directed. If it is minute rice, you can hold off for the time being. The rice I used only took 90 seconds to cook in the microwave. Therefore I waited till right before the recipe called for rice to cook it.

Go ahead and heat the vegetable oil, in a pan over medium to low heat. Add in the shallots and onion, along with the garlic and ginger. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes until golden brown. Add in the salmon pieces, and cook for about 5 minutes.Once the 5 minutes have passed, you will then want to add in the rest of the spices and stir for about a minute to really blend them in. Then go ahead and add in your yogurt. Next you’ll want to move heat down to low to simmer. Then add in the sugar, raisins, and rice and stir. Proceed to cover the pan, and let it simmer on the heat for about 10 minutes. Then remove the pan from the heat and let the food rest for five minutes before serving! Plate with a garnish such as parsley, and you are good to go!I love how easy this dish is to make, especially since it is a one pot meal! It’s not often I get to try my hand at various ethnic cuisines! I think the one pot appeal of biryani is definitely enticing for us busy parents who don’t always have a ton of time to prep, or feeling like deal with a ton of dirty dishes from cooking. I loved the aromatic presence of all the spices. If you are not a fan of spicy food, you are safe with this dish. There is chili powder, but the spice is not overpowering and is well balanced by the other components of the dish.The salmon was juicy and tender, and despite all it’s time on the stove top, it did not over cook! I think cutting the salmon into bigger chunks helped with that.

The Jungle Book Trailer

So back to the inspiration of this dish… have you checked out the new poster for the film? The visuals are just gorgeous!Based on Rudyard Kipling’s timeless stories and inspired by Disney’s 1967 animated classic, the film features state-of the-art technology that immerses audiences in the lush world like never before.

THE JUNGLE BOOK stars Neel Sethi as Mowgli, and features the voices of Ben Kingsley, Lupita Nyong’o, Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito and Christopher Walken. Jon Favreau and Brigham Taylor produce and the screenplay is by Justin Marks.

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THE JUNGLE BOOK opens in theatres everywhere in 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D on April 15th!

Which Jungle Book character are you most excited to see in live action?