There is nothing like a freshly made, steaming bowl of Biryani. It’s one of THE most iconic dishes in Pakistan and I can’t wait to share my recipe with y’all. Biryani, for those who don’t know, is a rice dish made with a curried protein layered in between aromatic basmati rice. It can be made with chicken, beef, goat, shrimp and even vegetables. I can’t choose which my favorite is because whichever one I’m eating it always tastes delicious! If done right the rice is always so fluffy and flavorful, I could honestly eat it by itself, hahaha, but I mean…a piece of chicken or shrimp certainly helps. Now, disclaimer before I start—every single person or family has their own recipe for Biryani so if you have seen something different or if mine doesn’t taste like one you’ve had just know every person does something different. I can’t tell you how many different biryanis I’ve had in my life and pretty much each one tastes different, but still, they’re equally delicious. So, I think it’s about time we get started with the recipe, why don’t we?
Ingredients:
- 2 cups basmati rice, uncooked
- 1 pound peeled, cooked shrimp (frozen)
- 1 medium onion
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder (or 2 tsp ginger paste)
- 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1-2 teaspoons red Chile powder
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Cilantro
- salt, to taste
Directions:
First things first is to make the rice. I’m so used to making rice in a rice cooker but for biryani its nice to make it on the stove, it just feels fresher. When it comes to making rice first take the dry rice in a bowl and cover it completely with water. Swish it around with your fingers to release the excess starch that will start to cloud the water then pour out the water. Repeat three or four times until the water runs clear. Cover the rice with water again and let it soak for 20-30 minutes. This just helps kick start the cooking process and it can be done in advance when you know you will be cooking biryani. After the rice has been soaking you can drain it out with a strainer. Once drained, in a large pot add the rice and then enough water to cover the rice. I don’t know why this works but I have never measured the water out. I simply stick my pointer finger in the water and see if it is one segment deep from the top to the rice (I’ve attached a helpful photo below).
I sprinkled a couple of teaspoons of salt in the rice before it cooks. First bring the water to a boil and then bring it back down to a simmer. Let it cook for 15-20 minutes or until the grains of rice are tender. Cover to let it steam up.
While the rice is cooking you can get started on the shrimp curry. Mmm…I’m getting hungry thinking about it, man I wish I still had some 😫. Making the curry is simple enough but it’ll take some time. Go ahead and dice up your onion and place them in a heated pot with the vegetable oil. Add in the garlic and ginger powder. On medium-low heat saute the onions until they’re slightly browned and translucent.
While the onions are cooking down you can de-tail the shrimp (or buy already de-tailed shrimp). Make sure they’ve been completely thawed beforehand to speed along the process. Now that your onions have been cooked, dice up your tomatoes and add those into the pot. Let them cook down for 5-10 minutes and then add in all the spices and salt, to taste. Continue to allow the mixture to simmer away for 5 minutes. Now it’s time…to add in the shrimp! If your shrimp was raw to start you can add it in along with the spices because it would need a little bit more time. Add in a few squirts of lemon juice and let the shrimp simmer away in the salan (curry) you made.
Once the shrimp has thoroughly picked up the flavors of the salan without overcooking, about 5-10 minutes. Take the shrimp out of the salan and let it reduce down significantly. The shrimp, tomato and onion all held a lot of moisture and it needs to go, but you don’t want to overcook the shrimp in the process. So once the shrimp has been taken out let the curry cook down until its thick. When you scrape the bottom of the pot you should be able to see the bottom and the curry doesn’t come back together. This is when you can add the shrimp back in. I completely forgot to add the cilantro in at this step but this is when you would do. Just chop up a small bunch and mix it with the shrimp curry.
And now…it is time for the most EXCITING part. You thought cooking the shrimp was good, just wait until you layer up this biryani. First carefully take out 2/3 of your rice from the pot with a large flat spoon. On this first layer spoon out half the shrimp mixture until the rice is thoroughly covered. Then add 1/3 of the rice on top of this and add the rest of the shrimp. Lastly place the rest of the rice on this shrimp. And that’s how you layer biryani. we always sprinkle on a dash of yellow food powder to give it that signature yellow/orange biryani color
Now wait just a minute! I know you want to dig in right now, but now is not the time. The flavors need to meld. So cover up the biryani and put it on low heat. The steam from the rice will help the flavors travel throughout the biryani. This may be the hardest thing you have ever done. Just hovering around the stove and smelling the biryani aromas wafting throughout the kitchen. But after a few short 10-15 minutes you will be allowed to uncover the biryani. Once you do give it a gentle mix from top to bottom, allowing the shrimp curry to mix throughout.
Guess what?! Guess what?? Guessssss!
You made BIRYANI! Omg, you did it! It’s so delicious! I mean, taste it first! And then you will know! It is delicious! Plate it up and it tastes great on its own or you can put some plain yogurt or raita (yogurt based sauce) on it.
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