Prawn Pulao

Who doesn't love a recipe that is fast to prepare, but tastes as though you have put in a whole lot of effort to it. Well, I do. I prepared this simple prawn pulao for our Sunday meal and the entire process took me only 40 minutes. No kidding!! So here we go.

Ingredients:

• Prawns 500gms
•  2 medium sized onions
• 2 large tomatoes
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin/jeera seeds
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• 100 gm curds
• salt to taste
• 4-5 tbsp oil
• coriander leaves to garnish

For the rice:

• 500 gms Basmati rice 
• 1 litre boiling hot water
• 5 tbsp oil
• 5 cloves
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 3 green cardamom, 2 black cardamom

Source: Thangam Philip's book of Modern cookery

Method:

For the prawns:

1. Shell, devein and wash the prawns well. Keep aside.
2. Slice the onions and chop the tomatoes fine.
3. Heat oil in a shallow pan. When hot add the sliced onions and fry till golden brown(quite brown).
4. When done, add the cumin seeds and chopped tomatoes. Fry well till the whole mixture is mushy together(6 to 8 minutes).
5. Add the prawns, coriander, turmeric and chilli powders. Add salt too. Fry the prawns well for 10 to 12 minutes adding the curds slowly at a time.
6. If you wish you can add very little water(I didn't) and simmer till prawns are tender. The gravy should be thick.
7. When done sprinkle with garam masala powder.

For the rice:

1. Wash the rice, strain and keep.
2. In a deep bottomed vessel heat oil. When hot add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Fry for a minute.
3. Add the rice and fry well for 5 to 8 minutes till you have a nice aroma. Take care as to not to burn the rice.
4. When done add 3/4th litre of the piping hot water. Cover and cook. 
5. If the water has evaporated add the remaining hot water and cook till done.

Assembling:

Once the rice is ready, arrange the rice and prawn with the gravy in layers. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with a cold raitha of your choice.

Notes:

1. The above is my method of preparing the rice. I generally add a little less of the required quantity of water so that the rice doesn't get too mushy. If required I then keep adding little amounts of water till the rice is perfectly cooked.
2. If you have any other method of preparing the pulao rice then by all means go ahead. 
3. While the recipe called for layering the prawn with gravy and rice, I mixed it all well cause that is how we like it.
4. While the rice was cooking I simultaneously prepared the prawns. The process from start to finish took me 35 to 40 minutes.

Egg Pulao

The day I read this recipe on Kim's blog I knew it would be an instant hit with my kids!!! They both love eggs and pulaos or biryanis of any kind. So a combination of egg and pulao would make it easy for me in the kitchen and for them to eat. Also as Kim noted it is easy and fast to prepare. Kim's recipe is meant for two and since I needed servings for four I altered the measurements accordingly. For servings of two head over to Kim's blog, for four proceed as follows....

You need :-

• 8 eggs(boiled)
• 2 cups rice(my cups are huge, more so mugs)
• 4 cups hot water
• 1 and a half lime
• salt to taste
• 3 tbsps oil

Grind to a paste :-

• 2 onions
• 5 green chillies(large)
• 2 " ginger
• 1 pod garlic
• 2 " cinnamon
• 5 cloves
• 2 black cardomom

Method :-

1. Boil the eggs, shell and keep.
2. Wash rice and soak in water.
3. Grind the above ingredients to a paste.

4. In a pressure cooker warm the oil and add the ground paste. Fry well till you get an aroma! (I fried 

            for 10 - 12 mts).

        5. To the fried masala, add the rice, mix well and fry some more.

         6. Add 4 cups water, juice of lemon, salt to taste and boiled eggs. Close the cooker and cook till done.

         7. Serve with a chilled cucumber or tomato raitha.

Final verdict : As predicted it was an instant hit!!! Thanks to Kim!!! This pulao will be prepared quite often at our home, what about yours???

Prawn pulao

Weekends are always hectic..with the grocery shopping for the weekend and week(you see everything is closed from sat 4:00 and whole of sunday), then the ensemble, followed by an outing with the family gives me very little time to be in the kitchen. As far as possible I try to cook on friday night for the following day so that I can do all of the above....  Since fish of our liking is not available, we bring in prawns on a regular basis which are very good in taste. That also means I have to keep on searching for new recipes to prepare them. I sat with my favourite chef Sanjeev Kapoor's Konkan cookbook and found this recipe...Prawn Pulao. The recipe serves four, but I altered the measures accordingly since I wanted servings for 8. The original recipe is noted ..

You need :-

• 1 cup prawns(cleaned)
• 1 and a half cups basmati rice
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt to taste
• half bunch coriander leaves
• half cup scraped coconut
• 3 green chillies roughly chopped
• 1 inch piece ginger roughly chopped
• 7 cloves garlic roughly chopped
• 15 fresh mint leaves
• 3 tbsps oil
• 1 inch stick cinnamon
• 4 black cardamoms
• 2 star anise
• 4 cloves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 medium sized onions finely chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

Method :-

1. Soak rice in 3 cups of water for 30 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
2. Wash prawns, marinate with lemon juice and salt.
3. Grind green chillies, ginger, garlic, coriander leaves, mint leaves and coconut to a fine paste.
4. Heat oil in a thick bottomed vessel and add cinnamon, black cardamom, star anise, cloves and cumin seeds. Saute for one minute.
5. Add onions, saute till it turns light golden brown. Add ground masala paste, stir fry for half a minute and add prawns. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Add soaked rice, stir gently and then add coconut milk.
7. Add three cups of hot water. Bring it to a boil, stirring once or twice. Cook on medium heat till water has almost dried. Reduce heat, cover and cook till rice is done. 
8. Serve hot with any raitha of your choice.

Sweet Pulao.

Sweet Pulao......... This dish transports me back to many years. Why because I relate this pulao to weddings!! As a child I remember getting excited on knowing there would be a wedding round the corner. Simply because I knew I would get to eat the sweet pulao along with the sweet chutney. Once upon a time, this rice dish was a must on the menu in mangalorean catholic weddings. Now it seems to have disappeared, making way for biryanis, fried rice and other rice preparations. Also it has become common for us to now prepare it in our homes. Maybe because cashew nuts, kismis and basmati rice are now affordable to the common man.

         The sweet pulao is prepared by me on a regular basis on Sundays. The kids love it!!! However, I do not prepare the sweet chutney, but we have it with any meat curry!! I prepare it in a non stick deep bottomed vessel and not in a pressure cooker.

Ingredients :-

1.  1 cup Basmati Rice
2. 50 gms Kismis
3. 50 gms cashew nuts
4. 2 onions sliced fine
5. 4 cloves
6. 2 inch piece cinnamon
7. 2 cardamom
8. 2 bay leaves
9. 4 tbsps ghee
10. salt and sugar to taste
11. 2 cups hot water

Method :-

• Heat ghee in the vessel. Add spices and bay leaf. When the spices splutter add kismis and cashew nuts and fry.
• Then add the rice and fry well.
• When done add the hot water along with salt and sugar. Cook till all the water has evaporated and rice is cooked.
• In a pan fry the sliced onions till dark brown. Be careful not to burn them. 
• Garnish the sweet pulao with the fried onions and serve hot with a meat gravy of your choice!!!

Pictured  along with the sweet pulao are lamb green curry and cucumber raita!!!!

Brinjal/Peas Rice

Ingredients :

1. 2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
2. 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
3. 1 chilli chopped
4. 1 cup chopped brinjal
5. 1 cup diced potatoes
6. 1/2 cup green peas
7. 1 cup basmati rice, washed and kept aside for 20 mts
8. 2 cups warm water
9. 2 tsp garam masala powder
10. 1/2 tsp haldi
11. salt to taste

Method : Heat ghee/oil in a pressure cooker. Add mustard seeds, and when they splutter, mix in chilli. Stir in brinjal and potatoes; saute for 5 minutes. Add green peas, rice, water, garam masala and haldi. Pressure cook till whistle is about to blow, then lower heat and cook 5 minutes. Set aside till steam dissipates. Serve alone, or with chutney.