How to Make Kerala-style Malabar Prawns Biryani

Ingredients

• For rice

  2 cups rice
• 2 Bay leaves
• 3 cardamoms
• 2 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• saltas needed

• For marinade

  ½ kg prawnspeeled and deveined
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp salt

• For masala and layers

  4 tbsp ghee
• 3-4 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 4 green chilliesfinely chopped
• ½ cup Coriander leavesroughly chopped
• ½ cup Mint leavesroughly chopped
• ¼ cup curd
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• 4 onionssliced
• 2 Tomatoeschopped
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric power
• 1¼ tsp garam masala
• ¼ tsp Black pepper powder
• 2-3 tbsp cashews
• 2-3 tbsp raisins
• 3 tbsp Milk
• A few strands of saffron

Let’s cook

1. Soak the washed rice for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, wash the prawns thoroughly and add all the marinade ingredients, mix well and set aside for at least 20 minutes. Soak saffron in warm milk.

2. Fry the cashews and raisins in some oil until golden brown and set them aside. In the same vessel, add more oil and sliced onions and fry them until brown and crispy. Once you take out the onions, add the marinated prawns into the same oil and fry for about 5-6 minutes. Take out and keep them aside.

3. Add another couple of tablespoons of oil if needed and then add a couple of tablespoons of ghee. Once the ghee is heated, add ginger-garlic paste and saute for a minute. Then add green chillies, tomatoes, coriander and mint leaves. Saute until the tomatoes turn a little mushy.

4. Add the powdered spices from the ‘masala and layers’ section, curd, lemon juice and 1/3rd of the fried onions. Stir well and cook for about 2-3 minutes until you get a thick gravy. Now, add the fried prawns and mix well.

5. In another vessel, boil water and add oil, cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon, fennel seeds, salt and the soaked rice. Switch off the stove when the rice is 90% cooked. Drain the rice and keep it aside.

6. Evenly spread the masala gravy in its pot and add a layer of all of the cooked rice. Then add chopped mint-coriander leaves, fried onions, cashews and raisins. Top it off with saffron milk, ghee and sprinkle some garam masala. Cover with a tight-fitting lid on top and cook on low flame for about 20-25 minutes.

7. Serve hot with raita, papad or pickle.