Prawns Biryani + Homemade Naan #FishFridayFoodies

It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' June 2020 event. We are a group of seafood-loving bloggers, rallied by Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, to share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month. 

And this month, Sneha of Sneha's Recipe hosting. She asked the bloggers to create a recipe for a fish or seafood biriyani. Here's the June 2020 biriyani line-up from the #FishFridayFoodies. I cannot wait to try these recipes...

• Bay Scallop and Shrimp Biryani by Food Lust People Love
• Instant Pot Shrimp Biryani by Making Miracles
• Prawns Biryani + Homemade Naan by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Seafood Biryani by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Shrimp Biryani by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Tandoori Prawn Biryani For One by Sneha's Recipe 

Prawns Biryani 

Biriyani is a family favorite. The Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf has been making his version since he watched Chef April Bloomfield make lamb biriyani with Chef Stevie Parle on The Mind of a Chef over half a decade ago. We've made it with beef and with lamb; and I've even taught a group of middle schoolers how to make it. But I've never made a biriyani with seafood. Gotta love the challenge. I started with our favorite recipe and adapted to use prawns. Then I made sure to make a batch of homemade naan to serve with it.

 Ingredients

Spice Blend

• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1 Tablespoon black cumin seeds
• 1 Tablespoon coriander seeds
• 3 teaspoons peppercorns (we used a mix of white, black, pink, and green peppercorns)
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 6 white cardamom, seeds removed and pods discarded
• 2" cinnamon stick
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1" knob fresh ginger, grated

Curry

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• splash of olive oil
• 1 cup onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1/2" knob fresh ginger, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 cup cubed potatoes
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup coconut cream
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
• 1 to 2 pounds prawns
• freshly ground salt, to taste
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Biryani

• 4 cups basmati rice cooked
• pinch of saffron threads, soaked in 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• fresh herbs (I used a mixture of cilantro, parsley, and mixed greens)

Homemade Naan

• 2 cups flour plus more for rolling
• 3 teaspoons organic granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons plain yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup warm water 
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing on finished naans

Procedure

Spice Blend

Prepare the spice mix by placing all the whole spices - except for the cinnamon - in a pestle. Grind with the mortar. Alternatively, you can place them in a spice or coffee grinder. Grate the cinnamon and place it in a small mixing bowl with the turmeric, paprika, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg. Spoon the spice mix into the bowl.Then, in the same pestle grind the garlic and ginger with one teaspoon of salt until you have a rough paste. Blend the garlic mixture and the spice mixture together until smooth and uniform in color. Set aside.

Peel and devein your shrimp. Place them in a large mixing bowl. Massage the spices into the prawns. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Curry

In a large pan - we used a Dutch oven - melt butter in a splash of oil. Stir in the onions and carrots. Stir well. When the onions begin to turn translucent, add in the potatoes, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 5 minutes, then add in the tomato sauce, coconut cream, water, and vinegar. Stir well to incorporate all of the spices that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. If the sauce is too thin, turn up the heat and cook until reduced, stirring constantly to keep from burning. Once the sauce is to your desired thickness, nestle the prepared prawns into the sauce and cook until opaque, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Fold in the fresh herbs and set aside.

Biryani
Soak your basmati rice in cool water while you make your naan dough. Drain the rice and cover it with boiling water. Add a pinch of salt. Let it boil for five minutes. Drain the rice, then return it to a covered pot to let it steam.

Place saffron in a small bowl and pour boiling water over it. Let steep for 5 to 10 minutes before assembling your biryani.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Spoon some of the prawn curry into the bottom of your dish.

Layer it with rice. Add a drizzle of saffron water and a sprinkle of freshly grated cinnamon.

Repeat: curry, rice, saffron water, and cinnamon...until the pot is full. Cover the dish with foil and place in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes and finish up the naan while it cooks.

Homemade Naan

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together yogurt, olive oil, and 3/4 cup warm water. Stir the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients with a fork. When a shaggy dough forms, dust your hands with flour and knead gently into a soft, slightly sticky dough. If the dough is too wet, add in a little bit of flour. As soon as all of the dry ingredients are incorporated, stop kneading.

Lightly oil a clean bowl and transfer the dough to the oiled bowl. Cover with a damp kitchen towel. Place in a warm spot for 60 to 90 minutes, or until about doubled in size. This will depend on how warm your kitchen is.

Once the dough has risen, dust a work space with flour and roll the dough into a cylinder. Slice the dough into six equal portions, then roll each piece in flour to keep them from sticking.

Warm a large cast iron pan - I used griddle - over medium-high heat until very hot. Using a rolling pin, roll one of the dough balls into an oval shape about 1/8-inch thick. Mine were approximately 4" x 8". Brush the pan with a thin layer of butter.

Gently lay the dough in the pan and cook until the top is bursting with air bubbles and the bottom has darkened in spots, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the naan over and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes more until the the bottom is lightly browned and blistered in spots.

Remove the naan from the skillet and brush with melted butter. Place the naan in a tea towel-lined dish to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining naans, adjusting the heat lower if necessary as you go. Like pancakes, I usually find it necessary to lower the heat after the first naan.

Serve naan warm with warm biryani.

And that's a wrap for our Fish and Seafood Biryani event with Sneha. We'll be back in July with fish cooked outdoors hosted by our group's founder, Wendy. How fun. I have my thinking cap on!