Soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes. Drain it.

In a pot, cook the basmati rice with 1½ cup water. Let it boil for 10 minutes and switch off the heat, let it steam for another 10 minutes. Keep it aside and cool down for 20 minutes.

While waiting for the rice, prepare the vegetables and spices.

Steam the eggplant in a pot, half cooked will be fine. We will cook it again later (Skip this step if you do not use eggplant) Nb. I steamed the eggplant (cut into half) on top of my rice, and then I sliced it into small pieces.

In a non-stick pot/pan, heat 3 tbsp oil. Add the bay leaf, green cardamom, cinnamon stick, and cumin seeds. Stir it for 1-2 minutes to get the aroma out.

Add the chopped onion, stir fry it for 1-2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, green chili and ginger. Stir fry it for 5 minutes until tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

Add the chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder. Stir fry it until it is evenly.

Add the sliced cabbage and cooked eggplants. Mix them well with tomatoes mixture. Cook it for 3 – 4 minutes. Cabbage will turn clear.

Add salt and pepper

In this stage, place in the cooked rice and slowly mix the rice with the vegetable mixture. Make a taste. Add some salt if it is needed.

Wallahh, enjoy your vegetable biryani.