Prawn Pulao (Shrimp Rice Pilaf)
Blog: cookingwithnelo.com
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- ½ cup (120 ml) cooking oil
- 1 large (200 g) onion - finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 2 medium (200 g) tomatoes - finely chopped. I prefer roma tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder - aka zeera powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder - aka dhaniya powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder - adjust quantity to taste
- 1 teaspoon turmeric - aka haldi
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon white pepper powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 chicken cube - crumbled into small pieces
- ¼ cup (60 g) yogurt - whisk until smooth
- 1 pound (500 g) prawns - aka shrimp/jhinga. Uncooked, peeled, tail off, deveined (Note A)
- 2.5 cups (600 g) water
- 6 small fresh green or red chilies - I prefer thai/bird's eye chilies. See important (Note B)
- ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro - aka coriander/hara dhaniya
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice - freshly squeezed
- 2 cups (400 g) sella/parboiled basmati rice - washed, soaked for 2 hours, then drained (Note C)
Instructions
- Have all ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking. You can use the checkboxes next to each ingredient to track your prep.
- Heat oil in a large pot/saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sliced onion and cook until it turns golden (but not brown).
- Add ginger paste, garlic paste, saute one minute. Mix in chopped tomatoes and cook until softened
- Add cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, black pepper powder, white pepper powder, salt, and crumbled chicken cube. Stir continuously for 2 minutes. To prevent the spices from burning, add a couple of tablespoons of water and lower the heat (if needed), during this step.
- Add yogurt, mix for 30 seconds, then add prawns/shrimp. Gently stir and cook just until the prawns start to change color, don't cook more than a minute or two. They will finish cooking in the later steps.
- Pour in 2.5 cups of water, cover the pot, bring to a boil. In the meantime, break 2 green/red chillies into halves. Reduce the quantity of cut chilies if you prefer less heat.
- Pull out the stems of the remaining 4 chilies and leave them whole. Make sure they have no cuts or openings to avoid extra heat.
- When the water is boiling, add these broken and whole chilies, cilantro (coriander), lemon juice. Then add the soaked, drained rice and gently stir to mix.
- Partially cover the pot with lid and let liquid reduce over medium-high heat (or medium if your burner is strong). Don't stir yet, just keep an eye. At first, the bubbles on the surface will be big and vigorous. As the liquid cooks down further, you'll start to see small bubbles and steam holes across the surface. That’s your cue to give a brief, gentle stir. Some liquid (around 10 to 20 percent) will still be left, which is intended.
- Cover completely with lid right away, and reduce heat to the lowest setting. Let it steam for 15 minutes. If using regular basmati instead of sella basmati, steam 10 minutes instead. DO NOT remove the lid. No peeking, no stirring.
- Turn off the heat. DO NOT remove the lid yet and leave the pot on the same burner. Let the rice rest for 15 minutes so it finishes cooking in residual heat.
- After the resting time, remove the lid, plate the rice using a flat, wide utensil like a rice paddle, and enjoy.
Notes
Note A: Prawn/Shrimp – If using frozen, add about 25% more to the total weight. So, if you need 1 pound, weigh out about 1.25 pounds of frozen ones. Thaw completely before use. If using fresh prawns, weigh after cleaning.
Note B: Fresh Chilies – These come in different sizes and spice levels, so rely on your best judgment to adjust the quantity of broken chilies. The whole ones added to the broth contribute to the aroma, not the heat, so I'd not worry too much about reducing their amount.
Note C: Rice – If using regular basmati, soak 30 minutes and steam 10 instead of 15. Everything else stays the same.