Prawns Biryani

Easy delectable prawns biryani prepared using fresh Black Tiger Prawns.

These prawns were delivered by Malek Seafood, U.A.E.’s leading seafood supplier. Here is the link to their website (click here) and to their Instagram page (click here). Malek Seafood is a HACCP certified facility dealing in premium grade fresh and frozen seafood. You can shop and order online through their website and get it delivered the next day without any delivery charges.

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Inspired by Marias Menu, I tried my hand at prawns biryani for the first time and I’m happy to say it came out pretty well. Here goes the recipe…

Prawns Biryani

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr

Total Time: 1 hr & 30 mins

Ingredients

For the rice:

Basmati rice – 3 cups

Water – 5 cups

Whole cardamom – 7

Cloves – 7

Cinnamon – 1 medium size stick

Ghee – 3 tablespoons

Lemon juice – 4 tbsp

Salt – as required

For the masala:

Black tiger prawns – ½ kg, deshelled & deveined

Ginger-garlic paste – 2 tbsp

Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tbsp

Pepper powder – ½ tsp

Onions – 4 medium sized, thinly sliced

Green chillies – 7 to 8

Tomaotes – 2-3 medium sized, chopped finely

Grated coconut – 1/3 cup

Yoghurt – ½ cup

Coriander leaves – 2-3 tbsp, chopped

Cashew nuts – 8-10, soaked in 2tbsp warm water

Garam masala – 1 tsp

For the garnish:

Cashews & raisins – 1 handful each

Onion – 1 medium sized, finely sliced

Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp, chopped finely

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Instructions

Preparation of the Rice:

Wash and soak the basmati rice in water for 25 minutes. Drain the water completely. Boil 5 cups of water with half the quantity of whole masala & keep aside. Heat ghee in a pan, splutter the remaining whole masala and add the drained rice. Fry for around 7-8 minutes or until the rice starts cracking. Add the boiled water, lemon juice & salt. Cook until the rice is done, and water is completely dried. Spread the rice on a tray & keep aside.

Preparation of the Masala:

Marinate the prawns with 1 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste, Kashmiri chilli powder, pepper powder and salt and keep for 1-2 hours in the fridge.

Meanwhile, grind together the grated coconut & coriander leaves with a little water & keep aside.

Also grind the soaked cashews into a smooth paste.

After the mentioned time, shallow fry the marinated prawns. Once the prawns are fried, keep aside and use the same oil to cook onions, remaining ginger garlic paste (1 tbsp) and green chilli. Once the onions are fried well, add the chopped tomatoes. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add curd and the coconut – coriander leaves paste. When it boils, add the fried prawns, and cook on low flame for 5-6 minutes. Add the cashew paste, garam masala and mix well. Cook for 2 more minutes & remove from fire.

Preparation of the Garnish:

Heat ghee in a pan and fry the cashew nuts and raisins. Remove the pan and in the remaining ghee, fry the thinly sliced onions till it becomes golden brown. Drain the excess ghee in a paper towel & keep aside.

Layering of the Biryani:

Grease a heavy bottomed non-stick pan with ghee. Layer the rice and masala in it & cover it with a tight lid. Heat a tawa and when it is really hot, place the biriyani vessel on top of that. Reduce the heat to the lowest flame & cook for 20-25 mins. Keep the heat at the lowest flame throughout, otherwise it might get burnt.

Garnish the baked biriyani with fried cashewnuts, raisins, onions & coriander leaves. Serve hot with lemon pickle, yoghurt salad & pappad.

Did you try this recipe?

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