Shrimp/ Prawn Biryani

When it comes to biryani, it's always the most welcome in our family among any food. Also when it comes to any special occasion , Biryani is something which comes first.  When you have Briyani in your meals, it's definitely considered as a Royal feast.
To us briyani with mutton, chicken, vegetables or fish,anything we just enjoy it to the core.  To be honest , among all the foods sometimes I find Biryani as easy preparation, if it's a pressure cooker version.  It's a one pot dish, it's special, delicious and just a simple raita is enough to accompany a briyani, unlike other dishes, you don't have to prepare so many sides.

This recipe is a very simple shrimp/ prawn biryani.  Shrimps are more easily available than prawns, so you can use shrimps but a good quality and a good size prawns would be the best.  Don't use this same recipe to prepare mutton or chicken biryani, since the spices is bit different for this prawn biryani.  Hope you all enjoy making this simple prawn biryani in your own kitchen.

Ingredients:
Rice- 2 cups
Prawns- 1/2 kg
Ginger garlic paste- 2 tsp.
Onion- 1 big sized ( finely sliced )
Tomato- 2 medium sized  ( finely chopped )
Green chilly- 2 slit lengthways
Coriander and mint leaves-  2 tbsp ( chopped )
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 3 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Curd- 2 tbsp
Bay leaves- 1
Curry leaves- 5 to 10 leaves
Cinnamon stick- 1/2 inch stick
Fennel seeds- 1 tsp
Oil / Ghee- 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Clean and wash the prawns well.  Mix it with salt and turmeric powder and set aside.  Heat oil/ ghee in a pressure cooker .  Add cinnamon stick, bay leaves, curry leaves and fennel seeds.  Let it fry for less than a minute, then add the finely sliced onions and ginger garlic paste.  Stir well with a spatula.  Add a pinch of salt to this onion, this helps the onion to cook faster.  Once the onion turns light brown in colour, add tomatoes and stir well.  Cover the cooker with a lid, keep the flame in medium to low and cook the tomatoes until they become soft and mushy.
Now add the prawns and stir well, add turmeric, chilly and coriander powder mix it well. Cover the cooker with the lid, keep the flame in medium and cook it until the prawns are cooked.  Now add the curd, coriander and mint leaves, finally add salt to taste.  Cover it and cook for few minutes until you get a nice thick gravy.  Now add rice and 3 cups of water.  Pressure cook for 2 whistles.  Let it rest for few minutes.  Remove the lid and give a gentle stir to mix the spices evenly with rice.  Serve warm with raita.

Sending this spicy biryani to Royal feast- Biryani and Kerala Kitchen Event hosted by Palakkad Chamayal.