Jal pari pulao

Serve 4 ⏲ 1 hour + marinating

• King Prawns 1kg, washed peeled and deveined (reserve the heads and shells for stock)
• Olive oil 3/4 cup
• curd 3/4 cup, beaten
• cream 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp. extra
• green chillies 7-8, slit half ways, lengthwise
• mint leaves a handful
• ginger 1-inch piece, julienned
• green, yellow and red bell pepper 1/4 each, diced
• lemon 1,juiced
• saffron a pinch
• pine nuts 3 tbsp
• rose water 1 tbsp
• whole wheat flour 1 3/4 cup

THE RICE

• basmati rice 2 1/4 cups, washed and soaked in water for 10 minutes
• cloves 8
• cinnamon sticks 4
• bay leaves 2
• green cardamoms 12
• salt a pinch
• lemon 1/4, juiced

THE MARINADE

• lemon 1, juiced
• ginger-garlic paste 1 tbsp
• royal cumin seeds (shahjeera) 1/2 tsp, powdered
• yellow chilli powder 2 tsp
• white pepper 1/4 tsp
• all-purpose flour (maida) 1 tbsp
• salt to taste

THE PRAWN STOCK

• prawns 25-40g, shells and heads
• brown garlic puree 2 tbsp
• brown onion puree 2 tbsp
• cardamoms 5
• cloves 5
• star anise 3
• mace 1
• kaffir lime leaf 1
• water 1 cup

1. Clean, wash and soak the rice in water for 10 minutes. In another vessel, boil 11/2 litres of water and add the whole spice, salt and lemon juice. if you do not want the whole spices in the biryani, you can tie them up in a muslin cloth to make a bouquet garni and remove it once the biryani is cooked. Add the  soaked rice to the boiling water and cook the rice until 2/3 done. Pass through a colander and let it cool. Reserve 3 tbsp of hot rice water.
2. Marinate the prawns with the ingredients for the marinade and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.
3. Heat half the olive oil, add the prawn heads and cook until the colour changes to dark red. Then fry both the purees for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 20 minutes. Strains, reserve the liquid and keep  aside.
4. In a large copper vessel  or handi, whisk the curd then add the cream and mix well. Add the strained prawn stock along with the green chillies, mint leaves, ginger, bell peppers, lemon juice, saffron, pine nuts and rose water. Cook for 5-10 minutes.
5. In the meantime, grill the prawns on a griddle until half done. Add half the prawns to the curd mixture and reserve half for later. Take the handi off the heat.
6. To make the dough, sieve the whole wheat flour, add water and knead into a dough. keep aside.
7. Evenly spread the prawn-curd mixture on the base of the handi and top with a layer of par-boiled rice. Layer the rice evenly on top of the curd mixture. Place the remaining grilled prawns on top of the rice.
8. In a separate bowl, mix together 3 tbsp each of cream, the remaining olive oil and hot rice water. Pour this mixture evenly over the rice; this softens it while cooking. To cook the biryani on dum, first seal the edge of the vessel with the kneaded dough, place the lid on top and bang down with your fist. This ensures that the lid is firmly in place and no steam is allowed to escape while cooking. Place the handi on top of a flat tawa (for indirect heating in the dum cooking process) and cook the biryani for about 20 minutes on a slow flame. Remove the dough from the side of the dish and serve immediately.