KING FISH BIRYANI

Ingredients for fish Masala:
King fish- 3 to 4 medium size pcs
Oil/Ghee- as reqd
Fennel seeds– 1 Tspn
Bay leaves – 2 big ones
Cinnamon stick – 2 small pcs
Onions – 2 small ones, thinly sliced
Garlic paste 4-5 Tbspn, coarsely ground in chopper/grinder
Ginger -2 inch piece + Green chili 4-5 pcs – coarse paste
Tomato – 3-4 small ones
Yoghurt – 2-3 Tbspn
Meat masala (Eastern or any)- 1 Tspn
Pepper powder – ½ Tspn
Coriander leaves & Mint leaves as per liking.

For Fish Marination:
Turmeric powder- ¼ Tspn
Lemon juice – 1 Tspn
Salt to taste
Meat Masala ( Eastern or any)-1/2 Tspn
Pepper powder- ½ Tspn

Method:
Clean the fish and marinate with salt, turmeric powder, lemon juice, pepper powder and meat masala. Set aside for at least one hour. Shallow fry the fish on medium high fire. Just enough to fry the outside & set aside.

Heat a wok and add oil/ghee. Add fennel seeds, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks and stir well.
Add sliced onions and fry on medium low fire until onion becomes light brown. Add garlic paste to it and stir fry for sometime. Once garlic starts changing colour, add ginger/green chili paste. Add chopped tomatoes to it. Increase the flame and stir well for few minutes and then close & keep for few minutes. Add turmeric powder, meat masala and salt according to taste. Once the tomatoes are blended in, add yoghurt and mix well. Add finely chopped mint leaves (Optional but use in small quantity) Add fish pieces and mix slowly so that the pieces won’t break. Lower the flame and cover and cook. Keep turning the pieces once in a while and keep covered. Once fish pieces are cooked well and masala is blended well remove from fire and add chopped coriander leaves. Cover and leave for at least ½ an hour. Mix with your style of Biryani rice.

Ingredients for the Rice
Basmati Rice – 2 cups washed & soaked for ½ hr
Garam Masala (Cinnamon-1” pc, Cloves-6 pcs, Cardamom-4 pcs, Bay leaves–2pcs)
Oil/ghee – as required
½ cup finely sliced onion, Cashew nuts– 10pcs, Raisins–2 Tbspn
Salt to taste

Biriyani Rice Preparation:
Heat sufficient ghee/oil in a heavy bottom vessel and fry ½ cup onion till turns golden brown. Remove and keep aside. In the same ghee/oil vessel, fry the cashew nuts and raisins, remove it and keep it aside for garnishing. Now slightly fry the rice along w/cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaves for few minutes. Then add 4 cups of boiling water, salt and allow it to cook on a medium heat.

Now in a bigger vessel, first spread the fish masala and then add a layer of the cooked rice. Again make a second layer with fish masala, and then the rice. Top it with the ghee-roasted onion, fried cashews and raisins. Cover it with aluminum foil & cook for 5 mnts in low heat. Switch of the gas & serve hot with Raita & Pickle

Masala Recipe courtesy: Sindhu Prasad- Abu dhabi