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Prawns/Shrimp/Chemmeen Biryani

May-19-2016
Shiba Nair
30 minutes
Prep Time
60 minutes
Cook Time
6 People
Serves
Read Instructions Save For Later

ABOUT Prawns/Shrimp/Chemmeen Biryani RECIPE

This is the authentic biryani that is cooked in the Muslim households of Kerala. The prawns cooked in a variety of spices, added to the half cooked rice & then put on dum & garnished with cashews & raisins fried in ghee makes this biryani super delicious & tasty.

Recipe Tags

  • Non-veg
  • Medium
  • Kerala
  • Main Dish

Ingredients Serving: 6

  1. Ingredients For Marinating & Frying The Prawns/Shrimp
  2. Shrimp/prawns 1/2 kg
  3. Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
  4. Red chilli powder 1 tsp
  5. coriander powder 1 tsp
  6. Juice of lemon 1/2 tsp
  7. Salt to taste
  8. Oil for shallow frying the prawns/shrimp
  9. White pepper powder 1/2 tsp
  10. Ingredients For The Caramelised Onions:
  11. Onions 3
  12. Oil 2 cups
  13. Sugar 2 pinches
  14. Ingredients For Making The Rice
  15. Rice 2 cups
  16. Cardamom 3
  17. Cloves 4
  18. Bay leaves 2
  19. Cinnamon 1 inch stick 2
  20. Ginger paste 1 tbsp
  21. Garlic paste 1 1/2 tbsp
  22. Green Chilli paste 1 tbsp
  23. Mint leaves 1/2 cup
  24. Coriander leaves 1/2 cup
  25. Salt to taste
  26. Water 3 Cups
  27. Ghee 3 Tbsps
  28. Ingredients For The Shrimp/prawns Masala:
  29. Ginger crushed 2 tbsp
  30. Garlic crushed 3 tbsp
  31. Green chilli crushed 6
  32. Onions 2 1/2 cups thinly sliced
  33. Tomatoes 1 1/4 cup chopped
  34. Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
  35. Red chilli powder 1 tsp
  36. Coriander powder 2 1/2 tsp
  37. Biryani masala 2 tsp
  38. Mint leaves 1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup
  39. Coriander leaves 1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup
  40. Juice of 1/2 Lemon
  41. Oil 5 tsp
  42. Ingredients For The Biryani Masala:
  43. Fennel Seeds 1 tsp
  44. Cumin seeds 1 tsp
  45. Shah Jeera 1 tsp
  46. Mace 6
  47. Nutmeg 1/2 tsp
  48. Star anise 1
  49. Cloves 8
  50. Cinnamon 2 (1 inch sticks)
  51. Cardamom 4
  52. Bay Leaves 1
  53. Ingredients For The Aromatic Ghee:
  54. Ghee 4 tbsp
  55. Biryani Masala 1/4 tsp
  56. Other Ingredients For The Garnish:
  57. Coriander leaves a handful
  58. Mint leaves a handful
  59. Saffron infused milk
  60. Cashews & raisins

Instructions

  1. Marinating & Frying The Shrimp
  2. Remove the shell & wash the shrimp nicely under cold running water.
  3. Marinate the shrimps with the ingredients mentioned under 'Marinating and Frying the Shrimp' and leave it aside for an hour. Do not pat dry the prawns after washing them because you want the marinade to stick on them.
  4. After an hour, grease a non stick skillet with some oil & fry these shrimps (a few at a time) with two tsp of oil.
  5. Do not deep fry the shrimps.
  6. Fry on both sides till the shrimps get cooked. The shrimps cook very fast so it shouldn't take a lot of time to fry these. Cook the shrimps to 95% (it means the shrimps need to be cooked, at the same time they shouldn't go too soft & tender)
  7. For The Caramelised Onions:
  8. In a pan add oil. When the oil becomes hot, add the thinly sliced onions & fry them on a medium low flame till they become light brown in color.
  9. Drain the onions on paper towels.
  10. You can add two pinches of sugar on the onions while they are being fried.
  11. Do not overcrowd the pan, so divide the onions into batches & fry them.
  12. You can remove the onions from the oil when they turn light brown as they tend to darken a while after they are cooked.
  13. Preparation Of Rice:
  14. Wash the rice in cold running water & keep it aside.
  15. In a heavy bottomed pan, add ghee, then add the whole garam masala.
  16. When you get a nice smell from the masala, add the onions.
  17. When the onions turn translucent, add ginger garlic, green chilli paste & sauté for 2 minutes or till the raw smell is gone.
  18. Then add the mint & coriander leaves & sauté till the leaves shrink in size.
  19. Now add the rice & fry it for a minute till the rice becomes dry & the grains separate from each other.
  20. Add water & salt & cook the rice till it is 90% done.
  21. Preparation Of The Masala:
  22. In a skillet, add some oil that was left after frying the onions or if there's oil left after frying the shrimps, you may add that too.
  23. When the oil gets hot, add the thinly sliced onions & sauté till they turn translucent.
  24. Now add the ginger garlic, green chilli paste & sauté till it turns brown & then add 1/4 cup mint & coriander leaves & mix well.
  25. Add the chopped tomatoes & cook till it becomes soft & mushy.
  26. Add the chilli powder, coriander powder, biryani masala & salt & sauté well to combine everything together & till the raw smell is gone. Add about 4 tbsp of water to the mixture. You can add more water if you think its needed.
  27. Now add the fried shrimp & mix well. Also add the remaining mint & coriander leaves, lemon juice & mix well & cook uncovered on low flame for a minute & turn off the gas.
  28. For The Biryani Masala:
  29. Dry roast all the ingredients & grind to a fine powder.
  30. For The Aromatic Masala:
  31. Take some ghee in a bowl & add the biryani masala to it & mix well & keep it aside for the final garnish.
  32. For The Garnish:
  33. Add saffron strands in milk in a bowl & let it rest on ur countertop for a while before you sprinkle it on the biryani.
  34. Finely chop mint & coriander leaves & keep it aside.
  35. In 2 tbsp of ghee, fry the cashews till they turn golden brown in colour & then fry the raisins till they puff up.
  36. Layering & Final Cooking:
  37. Take a heavy bottomed pan & grease it with 2 tbsp of ghee.
  38. Spread half of the shrimp masala, then spread half of the cooked rice.
  39. Sprinkle the aromatic ghee, followed by the fried cashews & raisins, mint & coriander leaves, brown onions & saffron infused milk.
  40. Repeat this process again till all the masala & the rice is transferred to the pan for layering & cooking.
  41. Cover with a tight lid & cook the biryani on low flame for 10-12 minutes.
  42. Do not cook for more than 10-12 minutes because you just need the prawns to become tender & the rice to cook 5% more. If you cook longer then you rice will become mushy.
  43. Turn off the flame but do not open the lid for the next 20 minutes.
  44. After 20 minutes, open it & serve the biryani hot with the raita of your choice, pappad & lemon pickle.

Reviews (1)  

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Sukhmani Bedi
May-19-2016
Sukhmani Bedi   May-19-2016

My mouth is literally watering looking at this dish. thanks for sharing :smiley:

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