Prawn Biriyani

One of my favourite food is Biriyani. For me Biriyani is the easiest & fastest food that I can make. Its tasty & can be eaten with or without Raita (Salad) Not all the time my Biriyani turns out to be perfect. The main problem is Rice. You need to cook it right to avoid it from breaking or getting over cooked. Many times this has happened to me. Never try out new brand of Basmati when you have guests coming over. Coz you really don't know how it will turn out. I use India gate Basmati Rice & Its perfect. You just need to cook the rice in the boiling water till its 80% done. When I say 80% it means till you see its become long but at the same time its not fully cooked.


ingredients:

1. Prawns – 500 g cleaned (I make a deep cut on the back of the prawn) Marinate it with Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp, Chilly powder – 1 tsp, Lime juice – 1 tsp, Salt – To Taste
2. Onion – 3 large, thinly sliced
3. Tomato – 2 medium, chopped
4. Fresh ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsp
5. Green chillies – 5-7 (If you red Chili powder is very hot than reduce the number of green chili)
6. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
7. Coriander Powder- 1tbspn
8. Cumin Powder - 1/2 tbspn
9. Yogurt – 2 tbsp
10. Garam masala – 1 tsp ( I use MTR brand)
11. Whole Garam Masala : 3 Elachi, 3 Cloves, 1 inch Cinamon stick, 1 bay leaf, 1 tspn whole Cumin, Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp
12. Coriander leaves – 2 tbspn, chopped
13. 2 tbspn Lime Juice
14. Salt – To taste
15. Oil/ Ghee – As required ( I use 3 tbspn Oil & at the end 1 tbspn Ghee)
16. 2 Cups Basmati Rice (I use India Gate)

For preparing the rice

1. Wash the rice; soak for 30 minutes and drain.
2. Boil enough water in a deep vessel to cook 2 cup rice.
3. Add the whole spices if required and enough salt to the boiling water.( I dint add this time)
4. Add the rice and cook till its 80% done. Drain the water immediately.

 Method:

1. Marinate the prawns with the ingredients mentioned above for at least 1 hr in the refrigerator. ( i did not marinate this time)
2. Heat oil ( 2 tbspn) in a large non-stick pan and shallow fry the whole garam masala, Onions Once its brown add tomatoes & the masalas. Fry this well till the fat separates & tomatoes becomes like puree. Now add in curd.
3. Add the prawns and cook for just 3 mins( If you over cook its gonna get rubbery) Once the prawns are cooked just remove them from the masala. ( Yes you heard it right. If you cook them again along with rice it will get rubbery and becomes tasteless)
4. Add in the 80% cooked rice to the masala give it a quick stir. Press the rice well to the bottom of the Pan. Add in 1 tbspn of Ghee on top & coriander leaves. Cover this pan with a tight lid and cook this on top of a tava (Flat Pan) on low flame for about 30 mins. (If you want you can bake this in the oven at 150 for about half an hour) If you want you can layer the masala with rice and cook.
5. At last add in the prawns to the Biryani Rice & give it a quick stir with wodden spatula. If you use steel poon the rice can get damaged.

Note: If you want it rich you can add fried onion, cashew nuts, Saffron & more ghee.

I make Chicken Biriyani also the same way but I cook the chicken till its half done and then add in the rice. In this method the masala remains at the bottom & rice on top.