Prawn (Shrimp) Dum Biriyani

This is an easy 3 step recipe. Fry Prawns, half cook rice, layer rice over prawns and cook.  I followed the Varevah chef's recipe. Have to tell you, he is a talker, I was not a big fan of his work becos he spoke too much before he started cooking. Half the time I would loose interest and move on. But my friend Subha recommended that I follow his recipe for chicken dum biriyani and it was a huge success. So I followed his recipe for prawn dum biriyani as well. 

Tips to know before you start:

• Soak rice half hour before you start.
• When cooking rice, salt water generously
• When frying prawns, do it in batches, we want to fry them so they have crispy out side and only half cooked, not boil and cook them fully.
• Use a heavy bottom pan. 

Ingredients:

• Oil - 4 Tblsn
• Prawns (shrimp) - desired amount
• Chili powder -  To taste
• Coriander powder - 1 Tspn
• Salt - To taste
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tblspn
• Basmathi Rice - 2 Cups (Soaked in water for half hour)
• Biriyani masala - 1 Tblspn (I would recommend North Indian brands, cos they are light and has whole spices in them)
• Coriander leaves - 1 cup
• Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
• Curd - 1 cup
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
• Cinnamon Sticks - 2
• Cloves - 4-5
• Fried onion - 1 cup (Store bought fried onions or sauté onions till dark brown and use them)
• Ginger garlic paste - 1Tblspn
• Green chillies - 3-4
• Cumin seeds - 1 tspn 
• Caraway seeds (Shahi Jeera) -  1 tspn
• Orange food colouring - 1tsp

Steps:

Fry Prawns:

• Marinate prawns with 1tspn of the following- salt, chilli powder, coriander powder and ginger garlic paste. 
• Heat couple of table poon of oil in the pan you plan to make the biriyani. When oil is hot, add 1 cinnamon stick and 1 tspn of cumin seeds.
• Then add prawns in batches and fry till they are crispy and brown on the outside ( No.4 in picture). 
• You can start cooking the rice simultaneously (No.3 in picture)
• Remove just the prawns from the pan and leave the oil in the pan to finish cooking the biriyani.

Cook Rice:

• When the prawn in marinating, Boil water in a large vessel.
• Drain water from the soaking rice. 
• When the water starts boiling, add, 2 tblspn of oil, caraway seeds, 1 cinnamon stick and couple of cloves.
• Salt generously. The water needs to be slightly salty when you taste the water. 
• Add the rice and cook till its 90 % done. 
• Drain rice.
• You will find that your rice will be done, about the same time you finish up with the prawns. So use the oil in the pan to do the next step.

Finishing:

• In the same pan used to fry the prawns, add a bit more oil if you need, and add Curd, green chillies  coriander leaves, mint leaves, biriyani masala, turmeric powder, fried onions and 1 tsp salt and sauté. (No.5 in picture)
• Stir in the fried prawns. Sauté for a minute or 2. (No.6 in picture)
• Add the cooked rice on top of the mixture. (No.8 in picture)
• Sprinkle a handful of fried onions, coriander leaves, and Orange food colouring over the rice. (No.9 in picture)
• Cover and cook over medium high heat for 7-10 mins.
• Turn off heat, gently stir the rice and mixture together. Cover again and let it rest. 
• As tempting as it might be to eat it immediately it tastes better if it rest for 15 to 20 mins. Trust me :)