Fish Biryani

For Rice:

• 2 tbsp Ghee
  
• 4 Cardamom(Elakka)
  
• 4 sticks - cinnamon(Karugapatta)
  
• 4 Cloves(Grambu)
• 1 tsp Pepper powder
  
• ½ cup Onion(sliced)
• 1½ cups Basmati rice
• 3 cups Boiled water
  
• 2 tsp Salt
  

For fish masala:

• ½ kg King fish (neimeen in Nagercoil, Vangiram in Tamil)
• 1 tbsp Chilly powder
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• Oil as reqd
  
• 2 Onion(sliced)
• 2 tbsp Ginger-garlic-green chillies paste
• 1 Tomato(chopped)
• 1 tsp Garam masala powder
• 1 tsp Biriyani masala powder
  
• 1 tbsp Curd
  
• 1 cup Coriander leaves(chopped)
• 2tbsp Mint leaves(chopped)
• 2 tbsp Ghee

For garnishing:

• Cashew nuts(roasted)
• Raisins(roasted)

For preparing rice:

1) Heat ghee in a pan.

2) Add cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. Stir them.

3) Add onions and fry for 5 min.

4) Add rice and stir for 5 min.

5) Pour boiled water along with salt and cook till it's done.

For making fish masala:

1) Marinate fish pieces with chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt
for 1 hour.

2) Fry the marinated fish pieces in oil.

3) Heat the same oil used to fry the fish in a pan.

4) Add sliced onions and fry on a low flame, till it becomes slightly brown.

5) On medium flame, add ginger-garlic-green chilly paste and tomato.

6) Stir it for 6 min.

7) Add garam masala powder, biriyani masala powder, curd, coriander leaves and salt and stir it for 5 min.

8) Add fried fish pieces and reduce the flame.

9) Cook till it starts to boil.

For making fish biryani:

1) Take a deep bottom vessel and layer fish masala rice.

2) Pour 2 tbsp of ghee and tightly cover with a lid.

3) Keep it on a very low flame for 10 min.

4) Garnish with roasted nuts and raisins.

Handy Hint:

Pour 2tsp of pineapple essence or some small pieces of pineapple before putting the lid on.it will give a very nice smell
:-You can use prawns or chicken instead of fish

Chicken Biryani Recipe

Step 1:

You will need:

• Basmati rice - 2 cups
• Chicken - 1 lb (chopped into medium size pieces)
• Garlic pods - 12 nos
• Ginger - 1 inch
• Green chillies - 8 nos
• Onions(medium) - 4 nos
• Tomatoes - 2 nos
  
• Cinnamon(Karugapatta) - 1 small stick
• Cloves(Grambu) - 5 nos
• Garam masala - 2 tbsp
• Biriyani masala - 2 tbsp
  
• Salt - As reqd
• some cashews and raisins
  
• oil or ghee 3 tbsp
  

For marinade:-

• Black pepper - 1 tsp
• Chilly powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Ginger(minced) - 1 tsp
  
• Garlic pods(big) - 7 nos
• Vineger - 2 tbsp

Step 2:

Marinate

Mix together the ingredients for marination along with chicken in a bowl. Refrigerate it for 6 hours.

Soak the rice in water and keep aside for 2 hours.

Step 3:

Start frying

Put a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of ghee or vegetable oil.


Step 4:

Chop

Peel and finely chop onions, then tomatoes.

Step 5:

Grind

Grind together the rest of garlic,ginger and green chillies and keep it aside.

Step 6:

Get started

Heat a tbsp of oil in a pressure cooker and saute the onions. When its half done add cloves and cinnamon to it and continue to saute. Then add ground mixture of ginger, garlic and green chillies. After that add chopped tomatoes and cover with a lid for 2 mins. Then add marinated chicken and saute it for 5 mins.

step 7:

Add the ingredients

Add garam masala and biriyani masala and saute it for 3 mins then add 4 cups of water and add rice to it and pressure cook it for 2 whistles.

Step 8:

Garnishing

Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves,fried cashews and fried raisins.