"Spicy Prawn Biryani (Kolambi BHaat) With Raita" ... Managed to get some large sized prawns, had been a long time since I prepared prawn biryani ... So, for today's lunch it's going to be pressure cooker spicy prawn biryani served with onion-tomato-carrot-cucumber raita ... Yumz ...
** Biryani needs no introduction to any Indian. I am sure all of you have relished this spicy rice dish many a times and loved it too. Biryani can be prepared both with vegetables and with the addition of Non-Veg. By and large biryani is usually cooked spicy and is relished with curds, raita, salad etc. This does not need any other gravy as an accompaniment. But usually some gravy is served in restaurants along with it and that too tastes yumz. In my home however, we prefer the Biryani slightly spicier and love it with raita or plain curds. Biryani; in traditional method is actually prepared by cooking rice separately and then assembling it with the meat or veggies cooked in gravy in layers and then cooking it on Dum or covered tight and cooked on low heat till done. The aroma of this biryani reaches a few feet away from your home and before you know the neighbors will have know you are cooking biryani. That is the fragrance that biryani imparts when being cooked.
** However over years things have changed drastically. Nuclear families have cropped up and urbanization and change in lifestyle has made many adapt to faster and new cooking methods. Pressure cooker comes in handy to every home maker as it is fast and easier to cook and one really does not need to stand by and attend the dish as it gets cooked. Birayni has also taken a makeover and many of us now prepare it in pressure cooker and avoid long methods. Also family being small, one needs smaller portion to cook than what used to be cooked in olden days for huge families. If prepared with caution, like addition of water and controlling of the heat to right consistency, biryani can be successfully prepared in pressure cooker and relished by all when in hurry. The only hitch in this style of making Biryani is you get a flavored full masala type rice and will not get that rice which are separate from masala like how it is in traditional biryani.
** Here is my Simple Method to preparation of “Spicy Prawn Biryani” using pressure cooker method … My Style … Try it, the briyani tastes simply awesome and your family will definitely demand for more …
** Ingredients :
Fresh Prawns / Sungata / Yetti / Kolimbi : 10-12 large sized (You can use frozen prawns too)
Basmati / Jeera Rice : 2 cups
Onion : 2 medium sliced thinly lengthwise
Curds / Dahi : ½ cup beaten well.
Curry Leaves / Kadipatta / Karbev : 6-8 fresh one’s.
Coriander / Dhania / Kothimbir Leaves : ½ cup finely chopped
Pudina / Mint Leaves : 4-5 cut into pieces.
Salt to taste
Ghee / Toop : About ½ cup approximately (will be used as required while following the procedure)
Oil : ½ cup
** For Prawn Marinate :
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder : 1 tsp
Turmeric / Haldi Powder : ¼ tsp
Salt to taste
** Masala No.1:
Onion / kanda / piyavu : 1 medium sized cut into pieces.
Garlic / Losun / Lehesun : 4-5 cut into pieces.
Ginger / Alle’ / Adrak : 1 inch piece cut into small pieces
** Masala No. 2 :
Tomato : 1 Large sized cut into pieces.
Coriander / Dhania / Kothimbir Leaves : ½ cup cut into pieces.
Pudina / Mint Leaves : 8-10 cut into pieces.
Green Chillies / Hirvi Mirchi / Tarni Mirsanga : 2 cut into pieces.
** Masala Powders to be added :
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder : 2-3 tblsp
Coriander / Dhania / Kottimbir Powder : 1 tblsp
Cumin / Jeera Powder : 1 tsp
Fennel / Badisep / Saunf Powder : 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder : 1 tsp
Haldi / Turmeric Powder : ½ tsp
** Whole Masala For Biryani :
Tej Patta : 2-3
Cloves / Lavang : 4-5
Black Whole Pepper / Miri : 6-8
Green Cardamom / Yellu / Ellachi : 3-4
Black Cardamom / Yellu / Ellachi : 4-5
Star / Anise : 2
Jaivitri : crushed few
Cinnamon / Tike Saali : 2-3 each 2 inch pieces
** Method of Preparing Spicy Prawn Biryani Using Pressure Cooker .....
** Wash and soak the rice in plenty of water for 25-30 minutes. Rinse well and put in an colander to drain off all excess water. Keep this ready aside.
** To Prawn Marinate : Remove the outer cover / shell of prawns, clean, devein them and wash them in water. Drain off all excess water and pat them dry. Now add pinch of salt, haldi powder and chilly powder and mix well. Keep this covered aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
** Masala No.1: Add the onion, garlic and ginger in a mixer grinder and grind to a smooth paste without adding any water. The paste should be smooth. Remove and keep this ready aside.
** Masala No. 2 : Add in the tomato, coriander leaves, green chillies and pudina leaves into a mixer grinder and grind all to a semi coarse paste. Do not add water while grinding. Remove and keep this ready aside.
** Masala Powders : In a small bowl add in the chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, fennel powder, garm masala powder and haldi powder together and keep this ready aside. I follow this method so that it makes it easier to add in all the masala in one go.
** Mixing of Ghee + Oil : In a small bowl add in the ghee and oil and mix together. Keep this ready aside to be added on as and when needed. I have made a mixture of the two, you can use only ghee or only oil too. I prefer it this way, as I find frying in oil is much easier than ghee.
** In a pressure cooker pan add in 3 tblsp of ghee+oil. When hot lower the heat and add in the marinated prawns and fry a bit, say for 2 minutes. Remove and keep this aside on a plate.
** In the same pan add in another tablespoon of the ghee+oil, when hot, lower the heat to medium and add in the ground Masala No.1 ie. the onion-ginger-garlic paste and keep stirring till the rawness of it goes and it turns slightly brownish. In between if you need to you can sprinkle little bit of water to avoid it getting burnt.
** Now add on another tablespoon of the ghee+oil to the pan and add the collected Masala Powders in the bowl to the paste in the pressure pan and continue frying them well, say for 2-3 minutes. Again if you find the masala getting burnt you can sprinkle little bit of water and continue frying.
** Now add in the Masala No.2 ie tomato-coriander-pudina-green chilly paste and continue frying till you see oil oozing out of the masala. Keep the heat low and remember you can always sprinkle some water if need be. When the masala is done add in a little bit of salt to taste and the prawns fried and kept aside and mix well. Remove the whole lot into a plate and keep it aside to be added later.
** See to it that the pressure cooker is clean before you continue, add in the remaining ghee+oil and when hot lower the heat to medium and add in the kept aside whole masala ie., Tej Patta, Cloves, Black Whole Pepper, Green Cardamom, Black Cardamom, Star, Jaivitri, Cinnamon and fry for a minute.
** Now add in the curry leaves and thinly sliced onions and continue frying till they turn brownish. Once they turn brown, lower the heat and add in the drained and kept ready rice and mix well. Fry all for a minute or two on low heat.
** Now add in the prawns in masala kept aside, the beaten curds, finely chopped coriander and mint leaves. Add salt to taste and mix well. Be careful with addition of salt as we have added salt while marinating prawns and a little bit while frying the masala.
** Now add in 3 cups of water and mix well. The water level should be at least 1 inch above the resting ingredients in the pressure cooker. If you find it very less, you can add in another half cup of water. However, be careful with addition of water as if the water added become more in quantity the biryani will turn too soft and mushy. I have added only 3 cups of water to the biryani while cooking in pressure cooker.
** Note : While cooking biryani in kadai, the proportion of water is usually in the ratio of 1:2 ie 1 rice : 2 water. But in pressure cooker you must add lesser amount of water as it is cooked under pressure say half a cup less. So judge accordingly and add in the water. Also remember that we have added in ground masala which also contains water content in it.
** Mix all the ingredients in the pressure cooker well and cover it with the lid. Pressure cook the Biryani on medium heat to one whistle. Once a whistle has passed off, lower the heat and cook for 5 more minutes and then just off the heat. Remove and keep the pressure cooker aside and allow the pressure to fall on its own. Do not attempt to release the pressure valve and remove the lid. You must wait patiently for the pressure to fall on its own.
** Once you are able to open the lid when the pressure has settled, do so carefully standing away from direct steam passing off and gently remove the lid and keep it away. Now Do Not Disturb or attempt remove the biryani or serve it immediately. Let the hot steam pass off and let it get cooled. After 5-7 minutes, with a fork gently fluff the rice so that more heat from within passes off. Do so once of twice. This way you will get perfect cooked Biryani. Garnish with a handful of coriander and mint leaves chopped finely.
** "Spicy Prawn Biryani With Raita" is done and ready to be served. You can serve this hot with any dish of your choice, though personally I always prefer it with Raita / Salad. The spicy pulav is always appealing with cold curd raita. Try the variation, I served it with carrot-cucumber-tomato-onion raita and it tasted yumz. Do try out this yummy Biryani and do not forget to give me a feed back. Enjoy it with your family and friends, they are sure to love it.
** For the Carrot~Cucumber~Tomato~Onion Raita Recipe, Please follow the link given below ....
** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of similar type in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. You can also go to my page (add on the left side of blog) and leave a message and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible … Thank you.
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