Recipe: This Malabar Prawn Biryani tastes too good to be true!

Malabar Prawn Biryani

Ingredients
1. Prawn 15- 20 without shell 1 kg
2. Jeera sambha rice 500 gms
3. Ghee 70 gms
4. Cinnamon 5 gms
5. Cardamom 5 gms
6. Cloves 3 gms
7. Onion 80 gms
8. Green chillies 15 gms
9. Tomato 50 gms
10. Garlic 15 gms
11. Ginger 15 gms
12. Turmeric powder 3 gms
13. Fennel 3 gms
14. Mint leaves ½ bunches
15. Coriander leaves ½ bunches
16. Yoghurt 30 ml
17. Salt to taste
18. Garam masala powder 3 gms
19. Cashew nut 15 gms
20. Green raisins 15 gms
21. Refined oil 30 ml
22. Bay leaves 2 gms

Method:
1. Wash and peel the prawns. Marinate with turmeric powder and keep aside.
2. Soak the jeera sambha rice.
3. Slice the onion, tomato and slit the green chilies.
4. Make a ginger, garlic paste.
5. Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add soaked rice and fry until the rice gets
rubbery. Then add hot water to cook the rice and check the seasoning.
6. Heat oil in another pan adds cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and fennel.
7. Add the sliced onion and fry until the onion gets golden brown colour.
8. Add the ginger garlic paste, green chilies and tomatoes.mix well.
9. Then add chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves. Add turmeric powder and salt to it.
10. Add yoghurt and check the seasoning.
11. Now add the marinated prawns, cook the prawns in the masala, roast it nicely.
12. Take a vessel spread the cooked ghee rice and keep the prawn masala and again
spread the ghee rice on the top. Put little garam masala powder on the top along with
fried cashew nuts and raisins. Keep the lid on the top and put dum for 10 minutes.
13. Now remove the lid and takeout the layered biriyani.
14. Serve hot along with the traditional raw mango sammandhi and chili chutney.

(Contributed by Sujan Mukherjee, Executive Chef, Taj Coromandel.)