Prawns pothi biryani
Abhipriya Raghav
A flavorful biryani recipe with a unique method of preparation involving steaming in banana leaves.
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 45 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
To marinate the prawns
- 300 grams prawns, cleaned and deveined
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- 2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper powder
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- salt, as required
For the barista
- 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
- ½ cup oil
To prepare the rice
- 1 cup jeeraga samba/ jeerakasala/ jeera rice
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 2 tsp garam masala
- handful of chopped coriander leaves
- handful of chopped mint leaves
- 1 tbsp crushed ginger-garlic-green chili
- salt, as required
To prepare the prawns masala
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1½ tbsp crushed ginger-garlic-green chili
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 medium tomato, pureed
- handful of fried onions
- handful of chopped coriander leaves
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1½ tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- salt, as required
To layer the biryani (for one parcel)
- 1-2 banana leaves
- few fried cashews, optional
- few fried raisins, optional
- handful of chopped coriander leaves
Marinate the prawns
In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients (except the prawns), listed under 'To marinate the prawns' Mix well to form a paste.
Add the cleaned prawns to the bowl and mix well with the paste. Marinate the prawns for 2 hours or atleast 30 minutes.
Preparing the barista
To a pan on medium heat, add the oil. Add the sliced onions when the oil is hot and fry the onions until golden brown on low heat.
Transfer the fried onions onto a plate and set aside.
Preparing the rice
Wash and soak the jeera rice for 30 minutes.
In a pressure cooker or a heavy bottomed pan, add the ghee and oil and let it heat on medium.
Add garam masala, coriander leaves and mint leaves to the hot oil and fry briefly.
Add the crushed ginger-garlic-green chili and fry in the oil until it cooks.
Drain the rice and add it to the pressure cooker. Mix well with the masala.
Add 2 cups water, mix well and add salt appropriately. Close the lid and let it cook for 4 whistles or until done, on medium heat. Once the pressure has settled, open the lid and fluff the rice.
Preparing the prawns masala
To a kadai on medium heat, add the leftover oil from making barista. Add the marinated prawns into the oil and fry until golden on both sides.
Transfer the fried prawns onto a plate and set aside.
To the same kadai, add ghee along with the crushed ginger-garlic-green chili. Fry until the raw smell disappears.
Add sliced onions and cook until onions are transparent.
Add the crushed or pureed tomato and mix well.
Add fried onions and chopped coriander leaves along with the required salt and let it cook until oil separates.
Add all the spice powders to the masala, mix well and cook for less than a minutes.
Mix the fried prawns along with the onion tomato masala.
Let it cook for a minute. Switch off the heat and set aside.
Layering the biryani
To a tadka pan on medium heat, add some ghee. Fry the cashews until golden on all sides and fry the raisins briefly in hot oil.
Wash the banana leaves and place it directly on heat or on a tava to wilt it. Gently move the leaf up and down (on both sides) to make sure the entire leaf is soft and pliable
Place one or two of the wilted banana leaves on a flat surface. Spread half of the required rice (for one parcel) and spread some prawns masala too on the rice.
Top it with another layer of rice and garnish it with coriander leaves, fried onions, cashews and raisins.
Fold the banana leaf from all sides to make a parcel and secure it with a string. Place the parcel on a steamer or an idli pan and steam for 10 minutes. Let it rest for another 10 minutes before opening.
Serve hot with any raita of your choice or with any pickle too.
- Marinate the prawns atleast for an hour.
- Instead of ghee and oil, you can also use coconut oil.
- You can also use basmati rice instead of jeera rice. Although, the flavor is the most in jeera rice.
- I used rice to water ratio as 1:2.
- Do not cook the prawns for a longer time as they become hard.
- Let the prawns masala be thick to make sure that it does not run outside the parcel.
- Using raisins and cashews are completely optional.
- While wilting the leaf, make sure you do not tear it. Gently flip and move the leaf up and down too.
- Steam the parcel for 10 minutes and let it rest for sometime before opening it.
Keyword biryani, kerala biryani, kerala food, pothi biryani, prawn, prawn biryani, prawn masala