Prawn Biryani

Making a biryani is such a tedious job for me....but eating it is something I'd like to do any given time or day. Unfortunately for me, there is no one to serve it on a platter and if I'm craving it, I need to get off my lazy ass and make it on my own. When we were in Chennai we had a tradition of having beer and biryani on Sunday afternoons. Didn't really have to slog it out because we had an awesome cook (Asha) whose speciality was chicken biryani. We used sit out on the balcony glugging down mugs of beer and then dive into the steaming biryani Asha used to make, without any qualms.

Here, the story is different. Sunday lunch is usually left overs from Saturday brunch or when we are so craving a biryani, we both split the job and make a rather biriyani-ish kinda dish while glugging beer or cider simultaneously and then sit down and eat it with half an appetite because you are already famished after all that cleaning, chopping and cooking. It somehow ends up tasting a 100 times better when and if we have it again for dinner :)

I have a standard chicken biryani recipe which I somehow managed to whip up from here and there, and religiously follow. In spite of noting down intricate details, I have still managed to screw it up- more like a biryani sadam a lot of times. Same has happened with prawn biryani too, but this time, even though it almost gave me a scare half way through, it turned out pretty decent. If i had been a bit more patient, I'm sure I could have hit the right spot. Nevertheless, the recipe is a keeper and I had to jot it down before I forgot.

We paired it with a glass of Chianti red wine and loved the outcome.
And before I forget, here's a biiiiiiiiiig thank you to all you guys who sent in those lovely comments about my blog header..I'm thrilled :)

For the rice:

Basmati rice- 1 1/4 cup

Cardamom pods- 3

Cinnamon- 1 inch stick

Cloves- 3

Bay leaf- 1

Lime juice

Ghee- 1 tbsp

Boiling water- 2 cups (approx)

Salt- to taste

To marinate:

Jumbo Prawns- 250 gms, deveined and cleaned

Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp

Garam masala- 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Lime juice- 1/2 tsp

Salt- to taste

Masala:

Onions- 3, medium size, finely chopped

Tomatoes- 2, finely chopped

Green chillies- 2, slit

Ginger paste- 1 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1 tbsp

Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder- 1/4 tsp

Garam masala- 3/4 tsp

Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves- 1/4 cup + enough to garnish, cleaned and roughly chopped 

Mint leaves- 1/4 cup, cleaned and roughly chopped

Yogurt- 2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Oil- 2 tbsp

Marinate the prawns with all the ingredients under the 'to marinate' section and keep aside for at least 30 minutes.

Also wash and soak the basmati rice. Keep aside.

(In the mean time you can chop the onions, tomatoes, mint and coriander leaves)

In a heavy bottomed pan (with lid), heat the ghee and splutter the spices- cardamom, cinnamon and cloves and bay leaves till nice and fragrant.

Drain the rice and add to the ghee. Fry on medium heat till they start spluttering a bit.

Add the boiling water to this, add salt and lemon juice and close the lid.

Cook till about 3/4th done...about 8 minutes as per my timing.

Drain using a colander and set aside.

In the same deep pan, heat the oil and add the onions. Sauté till they are translucent..about 6 to 7 minutes.

Throw in the green chillies and the ginger and garlic paste. Mix well and sauté till the raw smell disappears.

Add the tomatoes and sauté again till it all becomes a mushy paste like consistency.

Add the powders- chilli, coriander, garam and pepper powders and salt and mix well. Saute on medium heat till the oil starts separating.

Throw in the marinated prawns at this time and mix well to coat the prawns with the masala.

Add the yogurt, coriander and mint leaves and little water and mix well till they are all combined well.

Close the lid and cook on medium heat till the prawn is cooked through...about 6 to 7 minutes max.

If there is too much gravy, then leave the lid open and cook on high heat for a few more minutes.

Now comes the assembling bit...tip in the entire cooked rice onto the top of the prawn gravy, spread it around well, throw in some coriander leaves on top and cover with a tight lid.

Keep the heat to very low and cook till you see steam rising from the top. I keep it this way for about 15 minutes.

When you are ready to serve, either mix well, or dig right to the bottom and serve a ladle full, garnished with coriander leaves.

Serve with pappad, raita and lime pickle.

Notes: You can do the same in an oven as well...keep it for about 30 minutes or so...

I don't do the proper dum method, because i find this much more convenient

Sending this to the Festive rice event over at Torviewtoronto