PRAWN PULAO

Ingredients

750gm of Basmati Rice
  10 cashewnuts
  8-9 Raisins
  1 cup of mint leaves
  1 cup of coriander leaves chopped fine
  2 tbsp of ginger garlic paste
  Garam masala(2 bay leaves,2 cinnamon stick,1 star anise,3-4 cardomum,5-6 cloves,1 tbsp of peppercorns)
  1 onion cut into long pieces
  2 onions cut into small pieces
  2 tbsp of oil(olive oil preferred)
  2 tbsp of butter or pure ghee
  1/2 tbsp of chilli powder
  1 tbsp of garam masala(optional)
  Salt to taste
  3 small green chillies
  1/4 tbsp turmeric.
  1/2 tbsp chilli powder
400gm of prawns

Making the prawn stir fry:
Cleanup the prawns,devien them and keep aside.. Take 2 tbsp oil in a flat bottomed vessel, add cut onions,salt and saute for 2-3 mints. Add ginger garlic paste,cut green chillies and saute for 3 mints. Now add turmeric,chilli powder.Cover the lid and cook for another 5 mints . Cook till the onions are transperent. Now add the prawns and mix well with the above. Observe that lots of water will start oozing out from the prawns.Prawns cook very fast. So when they are 3/4 done,add cut coriander leaves and garam masala. Cook on a very low flame for 5 mints.Make sure 90% of moisture or water is absorbed. Take off from the stove and keep aside.Make sure that you take out the prawn pieces aside leaving along the gravy in the vessel.

Procedure

Clean the rice with water 2 times and soak it for 30 mints. See that you dont cleanup too many times as there is a danger of breaking the rice.
I have taken a rice cooker.I have put 1 tbsp of oil and added jeera. Once the jeera started spluttering ,add the bay leaves,cinnamon,cardomum,star anise,cloves.cashewnuts,raisins and saute in oil for about 3 minutes & let it cool. Add cut onions and add little salt.Saute for 4 mints .Now add coriander leaves,mint leaves and mix all the ingradients nicely. Now add the soaked rice into the above mixture and mix well.
Now add the prawn stir fry gravy to the above and mix well.Adjust the salt.Make sure the salt is in right quantity or else the pulao doesnt taste good.
It should not be too salty nor too bland..Switch On the rice cooker and let it cook till the rice is cooked 3/4. Now add the prawn pieces and let the rice cook till its completely done.
Leave the lid on the cooker for atleast 10 mints after the rice has cooked.Mix the prawns properly but see that you dont smash them and rice.
You can eat this with raita or vegetable kurma.. You can do this in a flat bottomed thick utensil also. Dont forget to put the exact quantity of water.I generally use 1 glass of rice to 1 1/2 glass water. Since the rice was soaked for 30 mints, i would reduce 1/2 glass of water. Overall i would reduce 1 to 1 1/2 glass water of the original quantity of water to avoid the rice getting over cooked.

 

Courtesy:  Akkisetti Shyam