FISH BIRIYANI

FISH BIRIYANI

Aromatic, spicy and exotic. Perfect meal to be prepared over a weekend and for seafood lovers. You will need fresh fish and the spices along with some tomatoes and yoghurt and you are good to go. Just a little different from the conventional biriyani using chicken or mutton. You will need the following:

INGREDIENTS

• Fresh fish - Fillet/Salmon/King Fish/ Pomfret  (1 lb or 1 Kilo)
• Basmati Rice - the same weight as the Fish 
• Yoghurt - 2 to 3 Cups 
• Lime/Lemon Juice - 2 Tablespoons 
• Ginger & Garlic Paste - 2 heaped Tablespoons
• 5 Fairly Large Onions (Finely sliced)
• Pureed Tomatoes - 4 Large
• Tomato Paste - 2 heaped Tablespoons
• 2 Teaspoons Chilli Powder (reduce or add according to your taste)
• 1 Cup Oil
• Some Yellow Food Colour or a little Saffron soaked in warm milk 
• Salt to Taste 
• Fresh Mint - a little 
• A few green chillies 

SPICES TO BE GROUND:

• Eight 1 inch Sticks of Cinnamon
• 15 pods of Green Cardamom
• 8 pods of Brown Cardamom
• 10 to 15 pieces of Cloves
• 15 to 20 pieces of Black Pepper
• 2 pieces of Star Anise
• 1 heaped teaspoon of Cumin Seeds
• 1 level teaspoon of Lemon Salt

(Alternatively you can use the ready Biriyani Masala Mix - but I prefer to use my own spices written above for better aroma and taste)

METHOD 

1) Wash and pat dry the Fish pieces. Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt over the Fish along with 2 Tablespoons of Lime juice. Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Shallow fry the Fish and set aside. 

Take some oil in a wok and fry the thinly sliced onions in batches until golden brown. Do not fry to dark brown otherwise the biriyani will acquire a bitter taste!! And the tip to brown the onions perfectly is put them in oil that isn't too hot and continue frying them on medium slow flame. Switch off heat as soon as you see that they are nearing the colour that you want. Continue stirring until done. Take them off onto absorbent paper and spread them out. Overlapping them won't get them crispy when cool, so you won't be able to crush them well later. Once all the onions are fried and cooled, keep a little aside and crush the rest to a rough paste. 

2) In a large pan, pour in the oil and add the ginger and garlic paste. Cook on high heat for about a minute. 

3) Add the tomato puree, tomato paste, yoghurt and 2 heaped Tablespoons of biriyani masala (the spices ground earlier), chilli powder and a little salt. Or if using the ready made store bought biriyani masala - it might already be salted so add only a little at this stage. Stir to mix well. 

4) Add the fried and crushed onions. Stir well. Keep stir frying this paste on medium heat until you see the oil just beginning to separate.

5) Lower the heat and place the fried pieces of fish in the paste. Coat the Fish with the paste. Do not stir with spatula at this stage as the Fish might very well break. So wearing your kitchen mittens, hold the pan from either side and swirl or shake the pan from side to side. Cook further for about 5 minutes or until most of the oil has separated. Taste for salt and add more if necessary. Throw in some slit green chillies and some shredded mint. Save the rest for later. Cover and set aside. 

 PREPARATION OF RICE 

Wash and soak the rice for about 20 mins. Boil water in a large heavy based saucepan, add 3 or 4 pieces of cinnamon, a few cloves, a few pieces of black pepper, 1 Tbsp of cumin seeds, I Tbsp of fennel seeds. Once the water is boiling, tip in the drained rice, add salt to taste, and a little white vinegar (this helps in making sure grains do not stick). Once the rice is 3/4 done, drain.
LAYERING

1)  In the same heavy based saucepan or pot that you used for boiling rice, spread out a quarter of the quantity of rice. Over this spread the Fish and the gravy that you set aside earlier. Try not to break the Fish in the process. But before you do that, make sure you have reheated the Fish gravy. 

2)  Over the layer of fish gravy, add half of the quantity of remaining rice, spread it out evenly and dot with either liquid food colour or saffron soaked in milk. Scatter over some of the browned onions saved earlier, some chopped coriander and chopped mint leaves (optional, but it really enhances the biriyani flavour). 

3)  Then over this layer spread out the remaining rice. Take a little bit of the same oil you browned onions in and drizzle it all over the final layer of rice. 
Dot over with some more saffron milk or liquid food colour. 

4)  Seal the pot with its cover/lid well. First let it cook on high heat until you hear it simmering. Then lower the heat to a dot (if using a hot plate, then to super low) and let it steam for about 10 to 15 minutes or until you are sure the rice is fully cooked. Alternatively, you can do the same thing in a rice cooker. Turns out perfect in that too.

SERVING

With a spatula, move the top layer of rice until the colour is well mixed. Place that first in the serving platter. Then add the gravy along with the fish. Take care not to break the fish while serving! Finally add some more rice in the serving platter. Garnish with the remaining browned onions. Enjoy the biriyani with Raita, Salad or Kachumer!!

It is a lengthy process and the onion browning tests your patience....but the end result is worth the effort. Bon Apetit.