RITU DALMIA'S PRAWN BIRYANI

“After a full belly all is poetry.”

Frank McCourt

The ingredients

I'm so fascinated by the term "frenemies." It's hardly new but I'm still fascinated - it so perfectly describes my relationship with so many acquaintances I love to hate. I'm not being mean. I'm pretty much completely certain they loathe me back. It's just that context, some expectation of benefit, shared experiences like college or school compel us to keep in touch and stay in each other's lives. To some extent this is unavoidable but with time and more real obligations, pressures I feel I'll need to cut a large swathe of them out of my social circle.

Everyday I find myself becoming more tense and with less and less time I can call my own. So much like the cheap, rexine handbag I bought from Janpath in third year of law school for INR 200 I realize perhaps these bits and baubles from my past aren't going to cut it in my present. Why invest more time and effort trying to patch these failing relationships when I can invest in the ones that work?

Unlike the recipe for this satisfying, lively Prawn Biryani from Ritu Dalmia's Travelling Diva. I love rice, I love prawns, I love this happy, yellow color - why not smash it all together in this sunny celebration? I know this recipe works because my brother polished it off all by himself in a day - eating it for all 3 meals. Little brothers don't lie about things that go right.

I've added more spice to my version, you can also add some more prawn if you like. You can also skip the turmeric, but if you do then roast the rice till it's a richer brown color at step 3.

 

Serves 3

Recipe adapted from Ritu Dalmia's Travelling Diva

 

What you’ll need:

1 cup basmati rice

100 g prawn (deveined)

2 onions (sliced)

4 -5 tbsp coconut milk

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp grated ginger

2 -3 dry red chillies

2 -4 cardamom

2 -4 cloves

1 dry bay leaf

Pinch of red chilli powder

Pinch of turmeric (as much as you need to get the color you want) (optional)

Salt to taste

Juice of 1 -2 limes

Handful of chopped coriander/mint
 

How to:
 

1. Soak the rice in water for about 30 minutes.

2. Heat oil and fry the whole red chillies, onion, ginger and garlic till the onions sweat and lose color. Add the bay leaves, cardamom and cloves, fry till fragrant – about a couple of minutes.

3. Add the rice and stir it around the pan till it browns slightly and is nicely coated in the spices.

4. Add 2 cups of water, turmeric, chilli powder, coconut milk, salt and some of the coriander leaves. Cook till the rice is soft but not completely cooked.

5. Add the prawns and lime juice. Cover the pan and cook till the rice and prawns are done.

Note: Prawns cook super quickly and you don’t want them to end up dry and rubbery so check in on them often.

 6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with Beetroot Raita.