Prawn Pulao

by Katy Damania and Arni Balsara
  • To cook

    1 hr
  • Level

    Medium
  • Servings

    4

Ingredients

  • Prawns cooking ingredients
  • 3 medium tomatoes grated
  • 4 medium onions chopped
  • 1 small bunch Coriander chopped
  • 5 tablespoons Oil
  • Marinated prawns
  • Steam Rice Ingredients
  • 300 gms basmati rice
  • 4 star anise broken but not powdered
  • 4 small cinnamon sticks broken but not powdered
  • 14 cardamom pods broken but not powdered
  • 1 tablespoon cumin powder
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 tablespoon salt or as per requirement
  • Water as per requirement
  • Please Note keep all ingredients full no need to powder or bruise them before adding to the rice at the time of cooking.
  • Prawns marination
  • 24 hours before cooking marinate the prawns.
  • 1 kg prawns deshelled and deveined
  • 1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sambhar powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon Cumin powder
  • Less than half of 1/4 teaspoon Red chilly powder (if you like spicy increase the quantity of red chilly powder)
  • 1/4 teaspoon gathiya turmeric powder
  • 1 green chilly deseeded and chopped (if you like spicy do not deseed and increase the quantity of chillies)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ginger garlic paste
  • On the day of cooking remove the marinated prawns from the refrigerator at 8am and keep it out to thaw and get it to room temperature.
  • Start cooking the prawns at 10am.

Method

    Prawns cooking method
    Fry onions in a non stick pan on medium heat.
    Add grated tomatoes, mix well and stir.
    Add prawns mix well and cook on lowest flame setting.
    The prawns on cooking will leave water so cook till the water evaporates.
    Once the water evaporates add chopped coriander mix well and cook for a few seconds.
    Use this base to make either Prawn Patio or mix with rice to make Prawn Pulao.
    Steam Rice Preparation Method
    Fry onions till sautéd on lowest flame setting.
    Add dry broken masalas and fry on lowest flame setting.
    Put rice onions and fried masala in the rice cooker with water oil and salt. Water should be above the rice submerging the rice.
    If cooking rice in non stick pan then water should be double the quantity of rice.
    If in a rice cooker once steam comes out of the cooker cook on lowest flame setting till rice is done or for 5 minutes more.
    If in a non stick pan once the water starts to boil put the flame on lowest flame setting shut the lid and cook till the rice is done or till water dries off.
    Making of Prawns Pulao
    Take a deep bottom dish.
    Add a layer of cooked steam rice.
    Top it with a layer of cooked prawns preparation.
    Add another layer of cooked steam rice.
    Top it with another layer of cooked prawns preparation.
    Continue doing so till the prawns preparation is over then right on top add another layer of cooked steam rice.
    Mix everything well and serve hot with either dhansak dal or raita or plain yoghurt.