Prawn Biryani with Saffron Biryani Mix

Saffron Biryani is one of those rare and delicious foods that has been admired and cherished particularly in the Asian region for quite some time now. It is believed by some historians that this dish has a Persian origin and was later brought into the subcontinent by the Mughal emperors. It consists of rice and a protein along with a very well-balanced pure saffron and Biryani Spice Mix to boost its taste and fragrance. The protein added can be beef, mutton, chicken, fish or prawns. Besides you can also add vegetables to it to make it more scrumptious. It also comes with several serving options such as salad as well as with a small amount of yoghurt added on top that will certainly make your feast more juicy and tasteful. This spicy blend of rice and meat is what one needs on a holiday or after a long hectic day at work.

‌Serving size: This recipe yields 4 servings.

Ingredients of Saffron Prawn Biryani

• King prawns (350g or 12.34oz)
• Olive oil (5 tablespoons)
• Biryani Spice Mix With Saffron (1 tablespoon)
• Medium-sized onions (3)
• Garlic (5 cloves)
• Refined Salt or sea salt (As per required)
• Unsalted butter (80g or 2.8oz)
• Fresh parsley (Handful)
• Lemon (1/2)
• Saffron threads (1 large pinch, 3-4 strands)
• Cold Water (1.5 litres)
• Basmati rice (500g or 17.6oz)

Preparation of Saffron Biryani

• First, you need to finely chop your onions and garlic cloves.
• To prepare the prawns for cooking, remove their heads first. Pull the heads out of the body rather than cutting it with a knife. Now remove the tail, shell and legs of the prawns. After removing all the unnecessary parts you are left with the meaty part of the prawn. Now, you need to devein your prawns. Make a shallow cut along the length of the back of the prawns. Remove the black vein with the help of your knife’s tip. Wash them thoroughly.
• Wash and soak rice for at least 10 to 15 minutes before cooking.

Cooking Instructions

• Take a large saucepan and fill it with water. Put rice in the water-filled pan and add salt to it. Start heating the saucepan. Let it cook for 8 minutes on maximum heat. After the rice has been properly boiled allow it to cool to some degree and then remove excess water by Make sure that the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of your saucepan by constantly and carefully stirring it.
• To prepare the sauce for our biryani again take a saucepan and this time add 80g or 2.8oz of unsalted butter and heat it on medium flame. After making sure that the butter is nice and hot add chopped garlic to it. After 4-5 minutes the garlic should change its colour to a light golden brown.
• At this point, add chopped onions and let it cook for 7 to 8 minutes.
• When the onions become soft, squeeze the lemon juice into the saucepan before cutting the lemon into slices and adding them as well.
• Now add the salt and Biryani spice mix with saffron into it. Mix and cook them for 5 minutes.
• Add prawns as well as parsley after letting some heat off. At this point, we only need the prawns to be completely coated with the sauce (it will be cooked later on along with the rice).
• Take another pan and put some olive oil in it. Add some of the rice we cooked earlier in this pan and spread it evenly. Then add a small amount of the coated prawns along with the sauce on the rice.
• The best way to cook it is by making different layers of rice and sauce. So, repeat the procedure by adding the rice layer and then by pouring the saffron-infused water and a layer of sauce over it.
• Once you are done, cover the lid. Heat it first on high flame for 5 mins and then set the flame to a minimum and allow it to cook for 20 minutes, the steam will do the job and cook the prawns.

Your saffron Biryani is all ready to enjoy.

Don't try to cook the prawns in the spice mix otherwise, they'll lose all water and become dry and chewy due to overcooking.