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Prawn Biryani in a pot with coriander and coloured rice on top

Prawn Biryani

Safira
This vibrant and delicious Prawn Biryani Recipe is an easy recipe in which plump juicy Prawns are layered with fragrant rice. Resulting in the most aromatic, flavourful and comforting plate of food. What’s more? It is made with simple Indian store cupboard ingredients and is surprisingly easy to make.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Indian
Servings 6
Calories 448 kcal

Ingredients
  

Saffron Milk

  • 50 ml Milk Warmed for a few seconds in microwave
  • Few strands Saffron

Fried Onions

  • 300 ml Oil Veg
  • 2 Onions Sliced

Marinaded Prawns

  • 400 g King Prawns Without Shell, Deveined
  • ½ tsp Pureed Garlic
  • ½ tsp Pureed Ginger
  • ¼ tsp Turmeric
  • ½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
  • 1 tsp Cumin Powder
  • Pinch Salt
  • 1 tsp Coriander Powder

Rice

  • 2 cups Rice soaked for 30 minutes
  • 4 cups Water
  • 2 Bay Leaf
  • 2 Cardamom Pods
  • 1 Cinnamon Stick
  • 3 Cloves
  • 4 Black Peppercorns
  • 1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Curry

  • 2 tbsp Ghee
  • 2 tbsp Oil
  • 2 large Onions Sliced Finely

Whole Spices

  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 1 tsp Caraway Seeds
  • 1 Cinnamon Stick
  • 2 Green Cardamom
  • 4 Black Peppercorns

Ginger, Garlic, Green Chilli

  • 2 tsp Ginger Paste
  • 2 tsp Garlic Paste
  • 1 tsp Green Chilli Paste

Ground Spices

  • 2 tsp Ground Coriander
  • 2 tsp Ground Cumin
  • ½ tsp Ground Turmeric
  • ¾ tsp Red Chilli Powder
  • 1 - 2 tsp Salt

Remaining Curry Ingredients

  • 200 g Plum Tomato tin Pureed
  • 5 tbsp Natural Yoghurt Whisked
  • 2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
  • 1 tsp Curry Powder Optional, I use Madras

Layering

  • Handful Coriander leaves and stems chopped
  • Ghee
  • Red and Orange Powdered food colouring Optional, dilute in water

Instructions
 

Saffron Milk

  • Add Saffron to warmed Milk and set aside. I like to break and dry toast the Saffron first before using.

Fried Onions

  • If you want to use fried onions between layers, fry them now until a deep golden brown. Or use ready made. 

Marinaded Prawns

  • Marinade Prawns in Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric, Red Chilli Powder, Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder and Salt.

Rice

  • Boil the water with the Bay Leaf, Caraway Seeds, Cinnamon Sticks, Cardamom Pods, Black Peppercorn, a generous pinch of Salt and Lemon Juice. Bring back to the boil, then cover with a lid and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, then drain and set aside. 

Curry

  • Heat Oil and Ghee. Fry Onions until golden brown (25 - 30 minutes), then add Bay Leaves, Caraway Seeds, Cinnamon, Green Cardamom and Black Pepper. Cook till fragrant.
  • Add Ginger, Garlic, Green Chilli and cook for a few minutes before adding ground Spices.
  • Pour in the Tomato. Bring to a boil and then cook covered on low heat, for 15 - 20 minutes.
  • Add Yoghurt, Garam Masala Powder and Curry Powder and Prawns. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occassionally. Remove from heat.

Assemble

  • Add some oil to the bottom of a large pot. Add a layer of rice to the bottom of a large pot. Then add a layer of Curry. Continue with layers till everything is used up.
  • Pour over the Saffron Milk on the top layer.
  • Add dots of Ghee. Flick over coloured water if using.
  • Cover in 2 layers of foil and add the lid. Cook on low for 15 - 25 minutes, leave covered for 10 minutes.
  • Check that the rice is cooked, otherwise continue to cook on low till rice is cooked through.

Notes

Top tips to make the best Prawn Biryani

Whole Spices 

Using whole spices and adding them to the golden brown onions adds a wonderful depth of flavour and aroma that cannot be replicated. 

Marinade 

Marinading the prawns and cooking them for a very short time ensures that they take in flavour whilst not getting overcooked. 

Rice 

I use pre soaked Basmati Rice in this recipe. The basmati rice I prefer is either Mustafa Rice or Tilda Basmati. The rice should be long-grained. Aged basmati yields better results.

Pre soak the rice

When time isn't as issue, you should always soak rice for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking.
Soaking the rice removes excess starch, reduces cooking time and makes for a more fluffy overall dish.
If you do not have time to soak the rice, then just thoroughly rinse the rice before adding it to the pot.
Please note that this will change cooking times and quantity of water needed too. Presoaked rice grains require less water for cooking as compared to rice grains which are not soaked

Caramelising onions 

Adding this between layers means you get the most deliciously sweet flavour. This is optional though.

Kewra Water 

A lot of people, add rose water or kewra water to the top layer of Biryani recipes but I don’t really like it so I avoid it. You can add some if you like.

Eggs 

You can add serve this Biryani with boiled eggs. Eggs always make everything better.

Yoghurt 

Whisk before adding to the tomato mixture to stop it from curdling. You can also add some of the tomato mixture to the yoghurt and whisk together before adding the whole lot back to the pot. 

Boiling the Rice

The rice will taste salty once boiled but it does get drained so this is ok.

Variations

Different Meat - Use other Proteins such as Lamb, Chicken, Goat. It will take longer to cook though. Make sure the meat is fully cooked in the curry before layering.
Scale up - You can double to triple this recipe and just make it in a large pot but you DO NOT NEED to increase the spices by double or triple the amount. Just adjust slightly.  

Storage 

Leftovers keep well for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.

Can Biryani be frozen?

Biryani freezes really well. You can freeze the whole lot in a good freezer friendly air tight container for up to 3 months.
To reheat, thaw the biryani overnight in the fridge or reheat for a few hours on the countertop. Reheat in microwave or on stove top over low heat until warm through.

How to serve

This recipe is perfect served with Papadum, Pickles (Achaar), Kacumbur (Salad) and Raita. I love this Onion one.

How to Make Ahead 

You can par boil the rice up to 24 hours ahead of using. You can marinade the Prawns for he same length of time too. 
You can also make saffron milk and brown the onions ahead of time.
Then on the day of, assemble the biryani layers and cook as per recipe.
Or you can make the recipe up until the prawns are added and boil the rice ahead of time.  

Nutrition

Calories: 448kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 21gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 184mgSodium: 1710mgPotassium: 367mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 57IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 211mgIron: 4mg
Keyword Biryani, Prawn Biryani
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