Prawn Briyani

With Deepavali being just days away,its a good time to visit bazaars that have sprung up in various parts of the cities.
Among the ones to visit are the 1Malaysia Deepavali Carnival 2009 at KL Sentral and the stalls along the main road in Brickfields and Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur.Shopping Malls like Bangsar Village,Mid Valley Megamall,One Utama and Bangsar Shopping Center are also has also bazaars offering lots of items from India.
Melaka is no exception, as you can find a mini bazaar along Jalan Bendahara, with light ups and music ringing to your ears.
All these outlets are not only famous for its Deepavali offerings like sarees,Punjabi suits and accessories, but also the irresistible Indian sweetmeats and savouries including muruku,omapodi,ladoos, barfis ,candies to name a few. The stalls here normally will be decked with a variety of cruncy delights and importantly they are affordable.
Add punch to your Deepavali look with some henna art on your hands and feet.You can go to certain outlets that offer the services or do it yourself right at home.Henna is easily available in most Indian shops .What you need is just some simple creativity to go with it.
To add colours to your Deepavali how about some rangolis at your porch.There are many ideas that one can get from the net .The designs are normally created with rice grains, sago, desiccated coconut or even sugee flour. Just mix it with some colours and let your imagination run !!Just make sure if doing outdoor use ingredients that doesn’t get blown away with the wind.

I will be going off on a brief holiday during the Diwali ,but before that a special recipe for Diwali your way : Prawn Briyani.There are many version of prawn briyani recipes available. Some does it simple with the least masalas in it because they want to serve it with curry, while others make it as spicy as possible so that they can njoy it by itself with some simple side dish to go along.Either way the dish is always special and tasty since there are prawns in it.(winks). I do luv seafood esp prawns and crabs, therefore I have created this prawn briyani according to my preference. Hope all of you try it out .



300gm basmati rice (wash and soak in 3 cups of water)
1 large tomato(chopped)
1 tsp tomato puree
250gm prawns (cleaned and leave the tails intact)
2 screwpine leaves(knotted)
1 bombay onion(chopped)
¼ cup evaporated milk
A few strands of saffron
A handful of chopped coriander leaves
3 tbsp ghee
Salt to taste

To grind into a paste
4 shallots
3 nos garlic
½ in ginger
1 tsp roasted cumin seeds
½ tsp roasted fennel seeds
½ tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp fish curry powder
5 black peppercorns

To saute
1 in cinnamon stick
3 cardamom
2 cloves
1 bay leaf


Drain and leave the basmati rice in a colander.
Heat a wok, melt ghee, add in cinnamon stick,cardamoms, cloves and bay leaf.Once aromatic add in chopped onions and saute until slightly brownish.Then add in the grind ingredients. Saute until ghee floats on top.At this stage add in
Tomato ,tomato puree, green chillies(if preferred) and prawns.Stir further for another minute.Add in basmati rice and combine well with the ingredients until the rice has coat well with the masalas.Close fire.

Transfer the rice mixture into a rice cooker. Add in evaporated milk, saffron,salt to taste and screwpine leaves.Give a stir.Pour in about 250 to 300ml of water (or prawn stock)and cook the rice until done.
Once the rice is cooked add in chopped coriander leaves. Discard screwpine leaves. You can garnish further with cashew nuts and raisins fried in ghee/butter.

This dish does not need curry since it is spicy enough with the masalas in it and can be served by itself .
Side dish like pajeri nanas/pineapple(picture above) or achar timun/cucumber goes very well with this briyani.


The above recipe is my contribution to the event Diwali Dhamaka hosted by Purva
and Diwali 2009 Contest organise by Priya of Priya's Feast.



Reposting Suji cookies for the events:
FIL-Ghee by Sanghi of Sanghi-Tastybites and
Sweet Series by MomRecipies
Click on the image below for the recipe: