Marinated shrimp, partially cooked basmati rice arranged in layers and cooked on low flame to perfection. A Hyderabad style dum biryani, a must try delicacy from the subcontinent.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Marination 30 minutesminutes
Servings 5
Calories 895kcal
Author usha
Equipment
1 2 ½ - 3 quart Saucepan
1 3 quart wide pan
1 Frying Pan or Kadai
1 Colander
1 Aluminum Foil
2 Small Bowls
1 Measuring cup & spoons used a measuring cup that comes with rice cooker, 180ml.
Ingredients
Biryani Masala
8Coves
½teaspoonCardamom Seeds
½teaspoonSahajeera or Black Cumin
½inchCinnamon Stick
Marinade
2lbsShrimp, raw and shell onI used 16-20 count wild shrimp
¾cupYogurt
3tablespoonGinger Garlic Paste
1 ½teaspoonChili Powder
1teaspoonCoriander Powder
12small Chilies split into two
1 ¼cupchopped Mint Leaves
1 ¼cupchopped Cilantro ~ Coriander Leaves
Biryani Masala
Juice of 1 lime½ cup
1 ½Salt adjust to taste
Spices for boiling rice
6Cardamoms
3Cloves
2Bay Leaves
1Bay Fower or Biryani Flower
1teaspoonSahajeera
½teaspoonGinger Garlic Paste
1tablespoonof Oil
First Full of Salt
Other Ingredients
1Large Onion, sliced
¾cupOil
½teaspoonof Saffron strands
¾cupMilk
3cupsRice, soaked for 30 minutes
1-2tablespoonGhee or Butteroptional
Instructions
Peel shrimp, wash and squeeze water from shrimp and keep aside. Check notes for tips when using frozen shrimp.
Grind all the ingredients listed under biryani masala to a fine powder.
Marinade
Take all the ingredients listed under marinaded in bowl, keeping aside ¼ cup each of mint and coriander leaves. Mix all the ingredients of the marinade and marinate for at least ½ - 1 hour. Prawn biryani does not require too much of marination.
Other Preparations
In pan heat oil and fry the onions until light golden brown. You can use a separate frying pan or use the same pot in which you are going to cook biryani in. Keep aside fried onions and ½ the oil.
Soak saffron in hot milk.
Cook Rice
In a big pot bring water to a boil, add all the spices for boiling rice and mix well.
Add rice and cook for 2 ½ - 3 minutes, one good boil, that is rice should roll over with boiling water. At this point rice is 40-50% cooked.
Reserve 1 cup of water, though you will need only ¾ cups of water.
Dump rice into a colander or a strainer and keep aside. Once this step is ready, immediately assemble biryani for dum style cooking.
Assembling & Cooking
Now its time to arrange shrimp and rice in layers; one layer of shrimp and two layers of rice. Then cook on stovetop or rice cooker. These days I prefer stovetop and use to cook in rice cooker over a decade ago.
In wide saute pan or rice cooker inner pot, pour ½ the oil at the bottom, arrange shrimp and sprinkle some oil on top of shrimp. For quantity of rice mentioned in the recipe card, you will need at least 3 qt pan/pot and 5 cups cooker, if using a rice cooker.
Arrange ½ the quantity of boiled rice on shrimp, sprinkle some oil, ½ fried onions and ½ saffron milk.
Repeat the above step for the last layer; spread the remaining rice, sprinkle remaining oil, fried onions and saffron milk.
if using ghee or butter, sprinkle it on top layer. If using butter, cut into small cubes or melt and pour on top layer.
Stovetop method
Place 2 sheets aluminum foil on the pan which should be wider than the diameter of the pan and then cover with the lid.
Fold the extra foil around the pan such that it seals the pan and the lid. Use narrow sheets of foil to seal around the pan.
Place an heavy object on the lid. I place a wok upside down and on it cast iron pans. You can use your weight lifting dumbbells or a heavy mortar pestle.
Cook on high flame for 10 minutes, reduce the flame to low and cook for another 20 minutes. Let sit for at least half hour before serving.
For rice cooker
Cover the cooker and on the rice cooker.
Put a heavy container on the top of the cooker lid so that steam doesn’t escape. Ii have a basic cooker and nor not the locking type cooker. So I put a heavy object on the lid. I have not tried this method in fancy rice cooker or electric pressure cooker with rice option.
When the rice is cooked and the cooker turns of , let it sit for at least 10-15 minutes before opening the cooker.
Measuring Cup - I used the measuring cup that comes with the rice cooker. 1 cup = 180 ml. All the cup measurements are with this cup.
Shrimp - If using frozen shrimp, make sure it is completely thawed before marinating.
Biryani Masala - You can use store bought Biryani mixes instead of biryani masala. I have used Shan Biryani mix before and it tastes good. You can substitute 3-4 teaspoon Shaan biryani mix and adjust chili powder and chillies to your taste.
Peppercorns - I did not use peppercorns in biryani masala. Sometimes I use it. For quantity mentioned in the recipe, I would use 7-8 peppercorns and cut back on number of green chilies.
Shrimp Rice Ratio - For 2 lbs of peeled shrimp use 3 ½ cups of rice. When using 2 lbs of unpeeled shrimp use 3 cups of rice. This is the ratio we prefer. However, if you prefer more rice, add ½ cup of more rice. Adjust quantity of rice depending on how you preference.