Absolute rookie prawn biryani

Ingredients

• One and half cups Basmati rice
• 500 g prawns/ shrimps
• One tennis ball-size red onion finely sliced
• 7-8 cloves of garlic
• Two inch piece of root ginger
• Handful of green chilies
• Handful of coriander leaves
• Few drops of lemon juice
• One heaped teaspoon of red chili powder
• One teaspoon of turmeric powder
• One teaspoon of black pepper powder
• One cup coconut milk
• Two tablespoons vegetable oil
• Two cardamoms
• One inch stick of cinnamon
• Two bay leaves
• One star anise
• Half teaspoon of black cumin seeds
• Little piece of nutmeg grated
• Salt

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Preparation

• In a bowl, marinate the prawns with the red chili powder and turmeric and a few drops of lemon juice. In a frying pan, heat one tablespoon oil and fry the sliced onions. Grind the ginger and garlic in a paste and make a smooth chutney with the coriander leaves and green chilies. When the onions start turning brown, add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for a couple of minutes. Now add the coriander-chili chutney. Sauté for 3-4 minutes on low-medium heat. Add the prawns and mix well. Add black pepper powder and salt, stir for a few minutes on the same heat and remove when the prawns start turning pink/orange at the tails. Prawns take very little time to cook and overcooking them is such a blasphemy.
• In another frying pan, heat the remaining one tablespoon vegetable oil, add the bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, black cumin seeds, star anise and stir for a minute. Add the rice and fry till the grains get coated with the oil. Add the grated nutmeg and salt. Fry for 3-4 minutes and remove from heat. In a microwave safe bowl, add the rice, cooked prawns, one cup of thick coconut milk and one cup plus two tablespoons of water. Make sure you use the same measuring cup for the rice, coconut milk and water!
• Give all the ingredients in the bowl a quick stir and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave the Prawn Biryani for 20 minutes. Check and adjust the seasoning if needed. Let it sit for about an hour before you serve.