Prawn Biryani

Prawn Biryani

This is again my family recipe ....almost made every week in most of my aunts house ( Mashallah I have 6 aunts ) prawns have never been my favourite and other day sis said start posting more recipes with prawns .....I thought why not prawn birayani.....My daughter enjoyed it .....this is my moms recipe with little variation .....

Ingredients

Rice -1/2 kg
Prawns - 1/2 kg ( cleaned ones)
Onion- 3no. ( sliced)
Tomatoes -2no ( chopped)
Whole garam masala ( cardamon-2,cinnamon-a small stick,cloves-4no.,bay leaves-2no. )
Oil-1cup
Ghee-2tbsp ( optional but gives flavour )
Curd- 1cup
Green chillies 2no.( optional)
Chilli powder-1 1/2 tsp
Corriander powder -1tsp
Turmeric - 1/2tsp
Salt to taste
Mint-1 bunch ( chopped )
Corriander 1 bunch ( chopped )
Lemon juice- 1 tbsp
Kesari colour- 2pinch ( mixed in milk )
Mom adds 2 to 3 green chillies but I avoid it....

Method

1) In a pan add oil and ghee,then add garam masala fry for 30secs and add onions and cook till they are light brown add the prawns pieces and cook for 5mts and add ginger garlic paste and turmeric ,mix well and in slow flame cook for 5 minutes ( prawns cooks faster )

2) When oil starts coming out from the prawns ,add tomatoes which can be chopped or you can coarsely grind it in mixer,add all the spices and cook for another 5mts or till raw smell of tomato goes,then add beaten curd and green chillies .Cook for sometimes

3) Add 1/2 cup water ( as prawns cook in few minutes ) and sprinkle chopped coriander ,mint and lemon juice .....keep mixing occasionally ...the gravy should be coating the prawns and not thin and watery ( cook only for 5 minutes otherwise prawns become rubbery)

Cooking the rice

1) In biryani most important is cooking of rice.soak the rice for half an hour ,as you are cooking prawns

2) Keep a vessel with water to boil ,add salt little extra and few mint leaves.you can add two cut lemon after removing juice as it doesn't allow rice to stick to each other( chefs tip) .

3) As water is boiling,add rice cook till its half done....important not to over cook rice ,it will take 7 mts for the rice to get half cooked as rice keeps cooking even after it is strained due to the heat trapped between the rice.

Layering the rice and gravy

1) Mix colour in milk , now layer the biryani in the order of rice and then gravy and prawns again rice and then gravy and finally rice on top add colour mix in milk .

2) Cover with aluminum foil and do not mix it...cook in slow flame for 20mts ,you can see the steam coming out of the rice

Serve hot with onion raita( chopped onion and green chillies in curd)