Easy Shrimp Biryani, Nawabi Style!
This delicious shrimp biryani prepared in the traditional south indian nawabi style is a a quick one pot dish full of flavour and taste that is unique and loved by everyone.
Equipment
- Cooking Pot and Roaster
Ingredients
- 25 Raw Jumbo Shrimps
- 1 1/2 cups of Tilda Basmati Rice
- 1 x 2" cinnamon stick
- 6 cloves
- 6 cardamoms
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 1/2 large onions sliced
- 6-8 green chillies
- 1 tbs ginger garlic paste
- 2 medium sized ripe plum tomatoes
- 1/4 cup yoghurt
- 1/4 cup olive or canola oil
- a pinch of saffron
- 1 sprig of cilantro
- a few fresh mint leaves
- salt as per requirement
Instructions
- Devein, clean and wash the shrimp 3 or 4 times in clean water. Set them aside. Wash Basmati rice 4 or 5 times till the water runs clear and let it soak for at least 20 minutes.
- Heat oil in a pot. Throw in the whole spices followed by the sliced onions. Fry the onions till golden brown.
- Add ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder. Stir fry lightly to let the raw smell go. Add tomatoes and salt. Cover and cook to soften them a bit for 2 minutes.
- Moisten the the onion tomato masala with a little water if it is too dry. Then toss in yogurt followed by green chillies, shrimp, salt, a few fresh mint leaves & chopped cilantro. Stir gently to mix everything well.
- Cover and let it simmer. After 2 minutes stir again gently so the masala doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Then cover and simmer again for 4 more minutes till the oil has risen to the top.
- Meanwhile bring the water to boil in another pot . Add the soaked basmati rice, salt and stir to mix well.
- Check the rice after one or two boils. When it is 75% cooked, switch off the stove and drain the rice in a strainer or colander.
- Immediately put the rice over the shrimp curry in the pot. Top the rice with some fresh mint leaves, chopped cilantro. Drizzle some *saffron water all over the rice.
- Then cover the pot and place it in the oven preheated at 400ºF for 10 minutes.
- When done, rest the biryani pot for 5 minutes on the counter to let all the juices get absorbed by the rice. Then mix the rice gently by sliding in the flat spatula from the sides and turning it over so that the curry at the bottom gets mixed up with the rice.
- You could also place it in the hot oven (which is switched off) for 5 minutes just to keep it hot before serving.
- Enjoy the shrimp biryani with yogurt and mint chutney.
- *saffron water - Crush a few strands of saffron in a mortar and pestle. Pour 1 tbs of hot water over it, then crush the saffron more with the pestle and mix it with the water well. This will give you a beautiful orange coloured saffron solution to use in the biryani.
Notes
1. Following all the steps exactly will give you the best results.
2. Using fresh ginger garlic paste and ripe plum tomatoes gives the best flavour.
3. You could also steam it on the stove, but using a thick bottommed pan is recommended.
4. Do not add water after adding shrimp. This will make the curry runny and cooking the shrimp for a long time in order to reduce the curry will actually toughen them up.
5. Using fresh and big size shrimp enhances the flavour of the biryani.
2. Using fresh ginger garlic paste and ripe plum tomatoes gives the best flavour.
3. You could also steam it on the stove, but using a thick bottommed pan is recommended.
4. Do not add water after adding shrimp. This will make the curry runny and cooking the shrimp for a long time in order to reduce the curry will actually toughen them up.
5. Using fresh and big size shrimp enhances the flavour of the biryani.