I love all kinds of biryani! A delectable rice and meat/veg preparation seasoned with aromatic spices and condiments infused with fragrant saffron and brown caramelized onions! As daunting as it looks, it’s not really very difficult to prepare a good biryani at home. You may need a few trials, to get all the proportions right.
Today I’m sharing my Mom’s recipe for green masala prawn biryani recipe| hariyali jhinga biryani. She learnt to make this shrimp biryani years ago from one of her neighbors way before she even got married. Everyone who has eaten this prawn biryani has always requested for the recipe, prepared it and raved about it. This is a fairly simple shrimp biryani recipe, and yet it took me time to get it right, mostly my masala gravy would be too little for the rice and then it would turn out a bit dry. So when mom was here with us, I learnt exactly how it’s to be done. I’m sharing exact measures for the proportions I follow now to make this perfect prawn biryani, so you don’t have to go through all the trials and errors.
WHAT’S IN THIS HARIYALI (GREEN) MASALA FOR PRAWN BIRYANI?
I love coriander or cilantro leaves as they are known here in the USA, and for me, none of my dishes are complete without a little sprinkle of cilantro over it. Cilantro leaves which are the most important ingredient in the masala are what imparts the lovely, fresh fragrance to this biryani. Of course, there are other spices like peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, cumin-coriander seeds, ginger, garlic, and green chillies, along with some turmeric! You really need to make sure you get fresh cilantro for this masala, for best results. Once this masala hits the pan, your whole kitchen is suddenly filled with a tantalizing and inebriating aroma, sure to make you drool. You can easily replace the shrimps with chicken too. For the chicken, simply marinate with yogurt, and lightly fry the pieces till 80 % cooked then add to the masala in step 6. You can also use paneer/tofu/mushrooms/mixed veggies for a vegetarian version. The list is endless! For now, let’s have a look to prepare this easy prawn biryani recipe.
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STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE PRAWN BIRYANI | SHRIMP BIRYANI | HARIYALI JHINGA BIRYANI
1.Clean, de-vein the shrimp. Wash well, pat dry and apply about 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well and let it marinate for 10 minutes.
2.Heat water in a pot, add lemon juice,once it comes to a boil, add salt and the washed and drained rice. Cook the rice till it is about 70% cooked. It should break easily when you press between your fingers and still retain its shape. If it mashes easily, it’s overcooked and that will not result in a good biriyani. So keep a close check. Drain in a colander and let it cool. You will notice the grains have separated nicely from each other.
3.Gather all the ingredients mentioned under To be ground to a smooth paste, grind using little water at a time for easy and even grinding. It’s better to pulse only the cilantro first, then add all the remaining ingredients. Doing it this way will ensure you have a smooth ground paste. I used about 1/4 cup water. This will yield about 3/4th cup ground paste.
4.Heat ghee/oil in a heavy and deep bottomed pot. Add the onions and tomatoes, sauté on medium heat until the onions are translucent and tomatoes turn mushy.
5.Add the ground masala paste, sauté until it leaves oil from the sides.
6.Rinse the grinder with 1/2 cup of water, extract the remaining masala, and add to the pot, add another 1/2 cup of water. Bring this to a boil.
7.Add the washed shrimps, mix well in the masala.
8.Let them cook for another 5 minutes. Once the oil floats on top of the gravy, it’s ready. Check for seasoning and adjust if required.
9.Take it off the heat. Add the par-cooked rice over the masala.
10.Add ghee over the rice, sprinkle chopped cilantro leaves, saffron infused milk, orange/red color& birista all over the rice layer. 11.Cover with an aluminum foil, and then with the lid. Switch on the heat to medium-high, place the pot directly over heat, let it cook for about 5 minutes. Then transfer the pot to an iron tawa/skillet, let it cook on medium-low heat for another 15 minutes. Switch off the heat and let it stand for another 15 minutes. If you are not using a heavy lid to cover the pot, remember to place some weight on it, to prevent the steam from escaping. Or seal the edges of the pot with some wheat dough, as it is done traditionally. Serve hot with onion-tomato raita or any other raita of your choice.
NOTES
2 cups of rice yields about 5 cup of cooked rice, which is just right for this biryani masala. You can add whole spices whilst boiling the rice too, discard and use the rice. For a spicy prawn biryani, increase the green chillies in the spice paste.
HOW TO MAKE PRAWN BIRYANI | SHRIMP BIRYANI?
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