Monday 28 January 2013

Fish Biryani..... Our #1 dish :)

I hail from Kannur (a lovely district in Kerala) known as the land of looms and lores which is popular for its coast line and wide variety of fishes & dishes. Obviously after migrating to the west finding a personal favorite fish here became a priority. Our answer to the fishy question was Scottish Salmon!!! We make the most of our cravings by grabbing occasional offers in one or the other store. So when anyone is visiting or when it's a special day, Nikhil wants me to prepare Fish Biryani which till date retains top #1 ranking among main dish variety. So here is the fish Biryani recipe which in my experience always comes out finger licking good :)

Fish Biryani:
Recipe adapted from Salkkaaram
Fish Biryani... #1 it is


Ingredients:
FOR MARINATION
2 tsp Chilly powder 
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 
1 tsp Ginger paste 
1 tsp Garlic paste
1/2 tsp Fennel seeds, powdered 

FOR MASALA

1/2 Kg Fish ( I prefer salmon here)
Onion (medium size, finely sliced)
Tomato (finely sliced)
2 Tbsp Ginger paste 
2 Tbsp Garlic paste 
1 Tbsp Green chilly paste (I like it spicy!)
1 Tbsp Garam masala powder (mine is a milder version) 
Coriander leaves (I use almost a cup of leaves, chopped)
5 Tbsp Oil 
1/2 Lemon's juice 

FOR RICE

2 cups Basmati rice 
3 cups Hot water 
1 Tbsp Ghee 
1 Cinnamon, a small stick broken
Cloves 
Salt, to taste
Saffron (few strands,optional)
1 Tbsp Milk, lukewarm (optional)

FOR GARNISHING

Cashew nuts (few)
Raisins (few)
2 - 3 Small onion (finely sliced) 

Method
FOR FISH MASALA:
  • Cut and clean the fish pieces. Marinate the fish pieces with all the ingredients under 'for marination'. Keep it in fridge for an hour. (I usually slice and ready the other ingredients while  the fish is in fridge allowing the flavors to set in.)
  • Fry the small onions, cashew nuts and raisins in oil/ghee separately till they brown and keep it aside.
  • In the same oil, shallow fry the marinated fish pieces and reserve it.
  • Add sliced onion in same pan and fry till onions turn a golden brown. (add little more oil, if needed)
  • Add the ginger-garlic-green chilly paste and fry for 2 more mins.
  • Add sliced tomato, garam masala, salt and coriander leaves and fry till you feel its all cooked and well combined (usually takes just few mins).
  • Put the fried fish fillets in this and mix carefully so that the fillets are coated well with the masala. (You can add 2 Tbsp of yogurt and mix well at this stage, as per the original recipe. But I usually try not to include yogurt along with fish).
FOR RICE
  • Wash the basmati rice and drain it.
  • Cook the rice with water (1 cup of rice, I use 1 & 1/2 cup of water ) ghee, cinnamon, cloves and salt until its done.
  • Soak the few strands of saffron in warm milk and keep aside (if using).
FOR LAYERING THE BIRYANI
  • Spread a layer of rice in the pan and then sprinkle some lemon juice and coriander leaves over it.
  • Put a layer of fish masala along with the fillets on top of the rice layer (reserving some masala for top layer).
  • Mix the remaining rice and masala and put as the top layer.
  • Sprinkle the soaked saffron with milk on top layer and then garnish with fried small onions, cashews and raisins. 
Sea Food Biryani & Chicken Biryani & Vegetable Biryani!!! (same method but few different ingredients)


Notes: I have prepared prawns, chicken & vegetable biryani too following the same recipe and they all turned out well. 
I usually make crispy poppadoms and dates chutney or coriander chutney as accompaniments to the main dish.

                                  ♥ Thank You ♥

5 comments:

  1. I have been soo waiting for this recipe to appear on the blog. I have tried the fish and chicken variation and I must say this recipe will be handed down to the future generations in the Ajin and Nimisha household :P..this will go down in History!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh!!! I am flattered.....very happy to know that you loved this!!! you should definitely try the dates chutney too :)

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  2. Share recipe for dates chutney pls, dont get it here in the US I guess!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suhail...you will find the dates chutney recipe in the following link:
      http://namusdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/dates-chutney.html
      :)

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