Fish Biryani Recipe - Malabar Style

Ingredients

For rice :

Basmati rice : 2 cups

Water : 4 cups

Ghee : 2 tbsp

Cloves : 4 nos

Cardamom pods : 3 nos

Cinnamon stick : 2 (1" pieces)

Bay leaves : 2 no

Onion : 1 big (finely sliced)

Salt to taste

For Marinating Fish :

King fish fillets : 1/2 kg

Red chilly powder : 1 tsp

Turmeric powder : 1/4 tsp

Ginger garlic paste : 1 tsp

Salt to taste 

For Fish Masala :

Onion : 4 (medium, thinly sliced)

Tomato : 2 (medium chopped)

Green chillies : 10-12 nos

Ginger crushed : 1 1/2 tbsp

Garlic crushed : 1 1/2 tbsp

Yogurt : 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder : 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder : 2 tsp

Pepper powder : 1/4 tsp

Garam masala : 1 tsp

Mint leaves : 1/4 cup chopped

Cilantro / Coriander leaves : 1/4 cup chopped

Lime juice : 1 tsp

Ghee + Oil : 3 tbsp

For dum (layering) :

Cashew Nuts : Handful

Raisins : Handful

Onion : 1/2 cup (thinly sliced)

Coriander & Mint leaves : Handful

Garam masala : 1 tsp

Pure ghee : 1 tbsp

                                     Preparing Garam Masala

                                             

                                                      

                                      

Method  
   
                                      

Cooking the Rice : 

Wash and drain the rice and keep it aside. Heat ghee in the pot, first we can fry the sliced onion followed by cashew nuts and raisins for layering (mentioned for dum). Keep it aside. In the same ghee we can prepare rice. Add all spices, onion and saute for few mins; now add the drained rice and fry for some time. At the same time boil required water and add to the rice. Cook the rice till done.

Preparing Fish Masala :

1. Clean the fish and make a wet marinate with above mentioned marinate ingredients; apply it on  fish and keep it for sometime.
2. Heat ghee+oil in the biryani pot and shallow fry the fish flipping both the sides; drain the excess oil in the paper towel and keep it aside.
3. In the same pot, add sliced onion to left over oil and saute until it is transculent, add salt at this time. This makes onion cook fast. Add the ginger,garlic, green chilly paste and saute until the raw smell goes. Then add turmeric,coriander,pepper and garam masala powders into it and saute for few seconds. Then add tomatoes, chopped mint and coriander leaves, lime juice and churned yogurt mix well.
4. Add fried fish and cook about 5 minutes.

Layering :

Spread 1/3 part of rice above the fish masala. Add few drops of lime uice. Springle some garam masala and pure ghee followed by   Fried onion and cashew raisin mixture and chopped coriander 

and mint leaves. Repeat this process with left over rice.

Close with tight fitting heat resistant lid or close it with aluminium foil and bake for 10 minutes. If you are doing this on stove top, then heat a skillet or tawa and place it on the top and cook in low flame for 10 minutes. 

Left it rest un opened until serving.