Prawns Biryani Kerala Style

Recipe of the week 🙂

This is the second biryani I am posting here in my blog. Earlier I had posted Egg Biryani, which turned out very well.
Todays recipes is a Malabar delicacy, the delicious Malabar Chemmeen / prawns biryani. The best thing in preparing a Malabar biryani is the taste always gets better the next day.  Most of us love Shrimp & Prawns and hence, what better ingredient to add to your biryani. Unlike Chicken & Mutton biryanis, this biryani is mildly spiced.

Prawns Biryani Kerala Style

Prep time              : 30 minutes
Cooking time       : 30 minutes
Total time             : 60 minutes

Servings        : 2

Category       : Rice dish, Biryani
Cuisine         : South Indian – Kerala – Malabar

Ingredients:

For marinating prawns:

500 Gms prawns / Chemmeen
1 Teaspoon red chili powder
1/4 Teaspoon turmeric powder
1 Tablespoon minced ginger and garlic
1 Teaspoon lemon juice
Salt to taste

For prawns masala:

1 Large onion, chopped
1 Medium sized tomato, chopped
3-4 Green chilies, slit
1 Tablespoon ginger and garlic, chopped
1 Teaspoon red chili powder
1 Teaspoon garam masala powder
1/2 Teaspoon black pepper powder
1/2 Cup mint leaves
1/2 Cup cilantro
1/4 Cup yogurt
1 Teaspoon lemon juice
Ghee as needed
Oil as needed

For ghee rice

500 Gms basmati rice
1 Small sliced onion
1 Tablespoon ginger, chopped
2 Cardamoms
2 Cloves
1 Bay leaf
2 Inch cinnamon stick
1 Teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 Cup ghee
Salt to taste

For garnishing:

2 Tablespoons fried onion
2 Tablespoons cashew and raisins
1 Tablespoon finely chopped mint leaves
1 Tablespoon finely chopped cilantro

Preparation:

• Marinate prawns with red chili powder, turmeric powder, lemon juice, minced ginger, garlic and salt. Set aside for 30 minutes.
• Wash and soak rice for 15 minutes. Drain the water completely.
• Heat ghee in a pan and add cardamom, cloves, bay Leaves, cinnamon, cumin seeds and ginger. Sauté for few seconds.
• Add onion and sauté until translucent.
• Add in the soaked basmati rice to it and fry well. Pour 3 Cups of boiling water to it. Cook on low flame, till it is 80% done.
• In a pan heat 1 tsp. of oil or ghee add cashew and raisins fry till golden. Keep it aside.
• In a same pan add 2 tbsps. of onion and fry till golden to make the barista.

Method:

• In biryani pot or deep vessel heat oil, add marinated prawns to it and fry until golden brown. Remove and keep aside.
• To the remaining oil add 2 Tbsps. of ghee. and add onion, salt to speed up the cooking, sauté until golden brown. Add chopped ginger- garlic, green chilies. Sauté it for a minute.
• Add tomato, red chili powder, black pepper powder and garam masala powder. Sauté until mushy, and add thick yogurt, mix altogether and cook till raw smell goes.
• Add chopped mint leaves, cilantro and lemon juice, mix well and cook again for 2-3 minutes.
• Add in the cooked prawns and mix all together, close the lid and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
• Now put 1/2 portion of the rice, spread evenly over the cooked prawns masala. Then sprinkle fried cashew, raisins, fries onions and a tbsp. of ghee. Sprinkle half of the cilantro and mint.
• Add the remaining rice again and sprinkle fried cashew, raisins, fries onions and ghee on top. Also sprinkle the remaining cilantro and mint.
• Cover the pot with an airtight lid and cook for 10-15 minutes on a low flame. Turn off the flame and allow it to rest for another 10 minutes.

Serve hot with raitha and pickle.