Spicy Prawns~Green Peas Pulao/Pulav/Pilaf.

"Spicy Prawns~Green Peas Pulao/Pulav/Pilaf" ... A delicious masaledar pulav with the awesome aroma of prawns cooked perfectly in pressure cooker ... Yummy Yumz ..... 

** Prawn Biryani or Spicy Pulao (Pulav/Pilaf) is something I never tire of relishing. For that matter I lover any biryani or pulao, it is one of my fav. Rice dish for which I do not even need any curry as an accompaniment. Some fresh curds or raita along with it and I am done, so does my family. I have prepared many types of prawns pulao before but when a friend suggest something new or even with minute changes, I am all game and love to try it out immediately. When my dear friend Jyoti Patankar who has a very successful Beauty Parlor to her credit told me of her way of pressure cooking of pulav which was slightly different from that of mine, I was intrigued and so I even asked her recipe and her method of preparing the same. There is always something to learn from others, like their cooking tips, method, short cuts etc. which are also very helpful at times. I am all ears whenever someone suggest a new method and always try to check out the same. Sometimes the small changes you learn on from here and there actually give you that much more depth into the art of cooking. On reaching home all night I could only think of pulav and pressure cooker, I wanted to try it out at the first opportunity I got. Though her recipe included chicken and biryani masala both of which I did not have at home,  I decided to prepare the same with prawns which I had in my freezer and mix up my own masala powders instead of the biryani masala powder, which I would definitely try out with the next time. 

** But for now, I was all excited and wanted to try out the same before I forgot all about it as is my usual habit. As you age, you really do tend to forget things and I am not an exception or should I say I fall first in the list now. So I have fixed a board in my home where in I just jot down anything and everything I need to be reminded of. I even set the alarm in my mobile if I have to attend a function if the invitation given is weeks ahead. I am sharing this with all my friends coz. I want all of you to not fret over minute things like forgetfulness, just chill, it happens to all of us, all you need is some planning and yes not to forget writing them down and the reminder settings, that’s it, and you are sorted. Ooops, once again I move away from the main recipe point, so let's move back to the interesting recipe using pressure cooker technique. This one is easy, you can use biryani masala powder if you have it or else you can try out my method and add on garam masala or goda masala powder. Pressure cooker's behave funnily at times, they are unpredictable, so I am always hesitant about cooking directly on it, but this is a foolproof method, which I have tried successfully before, but with these new tips it was that much more perfect. Henceforth, I will always follow this one as it is not only easy but cooks fast and perfectly too. 

** Thanks to my friend Jyoti Patankar for the recipe and passing on the perfect pressure cooking tip ... we relished this with simple beaten curds that's it ... Yummilicious .... 

** Here is the simple method for achieving of perfectly made pressure cooker pulao for the "Spicy Prawns~Green Peas Pulao/Pulav" Recipe … My style … 

** Ingredients : 

Basmati Rice : 2 cups 

Prawns / Kolimbi / Sungata / Yetti : About 25 large sized. 

Green Peas / Vatana / Matar : 2 cups fresh one’s shelled and ready. 

Onion / Piyav / Kanda : 1 large or 2 medium sized ~ finely chopped. 

Garlic / Losun / Lehsun : 10-12 cloves finely chopped. 

Ginger / Adrak / Alle’ : 1 tblsp grated 

Curry Leaves / Kadipatta / Karbev : 8-10 fresh leaves. 

Bay Leaf / Tej Patta : 2 small 

Coriander / Dhania / Kothimbir Leaves : ½ cup finely chopped. 

Salt to taste 

Ghee : ½ cup 

Boiling Water : 4 cups 

** Masala Powders : 

Goda Masala : 1 tblsp 

OR

Any Briyani Masala Powder : 1 tblsp.

Garam Masala Powder : ½ tsp 

Kashmir Red Chilly Powder : 1 tblsp 

Coriander / Dhania / Kothimbir Powder : 1 tblsp 

Cumin / Jeera Powder : ¾ tsp 

Badisep / Saunf / Fennel Powder : ½ tps 

Haldi / Turmeric Powder : ½ tsp 

** Pick, clean and wash basmati rice in plenty of water. You can also use any other variety of rice you use for preparing the pulav usually like katsambar rice / jeera rice etc. Here I have used Dawat Basmati Rice as it gives good results. Soak it in plenty of water for about 30 minutes. Then drain and rinse well under running water in a colander and then keep it aside in the colander for another 15-20 minutes, shaking well for all the excess water to get drained off. 

** Clean, de-Vein and wash the prawns in plenty of water. Drain off all excess water, pat dry and put it in bowl. Now add in a pinch of turmeric powder, little bit of red chilly powder, salt to taste and mix well. Keep this aside covered to marinate say for about 20-30 mins. while we go ahead with other preparations. 

** Keep 4 cups of water to boil on in a vessel as you begin to start the process of preparing for pressure cooking of other ingredients as by the time the ingredients and fried and ready you will have the water boiling and ready to be added on. This is very important step, you can also put it in a microwave bowl and boil it in MW and keep it ready too, the way I do, as I find that convenient. Choose any method but have the water at boiling point ready by the time the frying is done. 

** Heat ghee in pressure cooker pan, when it melts and is hot add in the finely chopped garlic and fry on medium heat till the color changes very lightly. Now add in the finely chopped onions and grated ginger and fry till the onions change to light brownish color. Now lower the heat to minimum and add in the curry leaves and the tejpatta and fry for a few seconds. 

** Now add in the masala powder and mix well. Fry this for a minute and then add in marinated prawns, mix well and fry for a minute. You can add in a tablespoon of hot water if you find that the masala is getting burnt. The powder masala should not get burnt or else the taste gets lost. 

** Now add in the green peas and the drained rice and mix well. Keep the heat on minimum and cover with a plate and let it get steamed with for a minute, remove the lid and mix well and once again cover and leave it for a minute. This method of steaming the raw rice is my friends, but it works in the way that the rice somewhat gets roasted. 

** Now add in salt to taste, finely chopped coriander leaves keeping aside a little bit for final garnish and the boiling hot water to the ingredients in the pressure cooker, mix well and bring to a full boil on high heat. Once it starts boiling, stir well, and cover with the pressure cooker lid and cook on high to 2-3 whistles. Now off the flame and keep the pressure cooker undisturbed as it is. 

** The pressure in the cooker should settle on its own, once you are able to open the lid do so and allow the steam within to move off. Once again do not disturb the rice immediately on opening the lid as the rice is hot and if mixed in now it tends to break. So allow it to cool for good 5-10 minutes and then its done and ready to be served. Garnish on top with the coriander leaves kept aside. 

** "Spicy Prawns~Green Peas Pulao/Pulav" is done and ready to be served. This is a spicy pulao / pulao, so there is no need of any spicy gravy dish for the same. However, you can add on any kurma or chicken curry too and I assure you it will taste wonderful. In my home usually we enjoy non-veg. pulavs as it is with fresh curds or raita. So I served it with fresh beaten curds in which case you do not need lemon wedges otherwise you can serve with a piece of lemon piece to bring in tartness the pulav. 

** This pulao though is spicy enough it may not be so for some spicy lovers in which case you can increase the red chilly powder by another ½ to 1 tsp. But do not increase the other powders and it may then turn out slightly bitter, so keep that as it is. Do try this out and enjoy with your family and friends. I am sure they will love this pulav, again if you are a vegetarian you can prepare it with large florets of cauliflower and green peas, it will taste great and is next on my preparation list for sure. 

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