Prawns (Shrimp) biriyani

Biriyani is one of our favourite dishes, a rice medley made of either vegetables or more commonly egg, chicken, goat, lamb or beef and flavoured with spices. Seafood biriyanis are also very popular and includes fish biriyani and prawns biriyani. There are regional differences in the preparation of biriyani with changes in the combination of spices used and/or the variations in the techniques of cooking. It is traditionally served with raita (a yoghurt sauce with vegetables or fruits), crispy wafers called pappads and spicy pickles. I am not a very big fan of seafood, so I do not experiment with a lot of seafood. Being born and brought-up in a city where fresh seafood is abundant, JM is fond of seafood dishes and favours prawns (shrimp), although the frozen shrimp available in the US is not as tasty as the fresh ones available back home.

When a fellow blogger visited my blog, I went back to explore hers. I found a recipe for a very appetizing prawns biriyani. It seemed good with a layer of cooked shrimp masala sandwiched between two layers of rice, covered and baked in the oven. After going through the recipe, I was left with a longing for such a biriyani from my kitchen and I knew that JM would appreciate it very much. Thankfully, I had a packet of frozen shrimp, so I planned the preparation for the next day. Usually, JM does not come for lunch, and I lured him home with the promise of a good lunch. I got to cooking after he left for work, and finished earlier than I expected. I did not have any cashewnuts because the "resident thieves" had raided the cashews reserved for such impulsive cooking. When JM came home for lunch, excited about my promise, I showed my creation to him. He was impressed by the presentation and we happily clicked away for my blog! As soon as we finished taking pictures, we started our taste-testing. Needless to say, we were not disappointed, infact we were hooked !! It was not very spicy, was cooked to perfection and looked stunning, perfect for when you have guests over. Thanks Remya for the wonderful recipe. I would suggest checking out her blog for the recipe and instructions. Do try this one out, the work you put in will be worth it! We had the biriyani with grape raita, the recipe for which I will be posting soon. Hope you'll enjoy the pictures of my biriyani, dont forget to leave words of encouragement. Enjoy, you all !!

Tips:

1. I used frozen, deveined, cooked tail-on shrimp. Thaw before use.
2. I would suggest to sprinkle about 2-3 tbsp of water over the layered rice and prawns, so that the baked biriyani will remain moist and flavorful.