Name: Prawn Biryani Recipe | Prawn Dum Biryani | Jhinga Biryani Step by Step
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 300 grams basmati rice, (about 1½ cups), preferably a long grain aromatic like Basmati; 2 teaspoons sea salt, plus 1½ teaspoons or to taste for separate use; 3/4 cup mint leaves, packed fresh mint leaves, chopped; 3/4 cup coriander leaves, packed fresh coriander leaves, chopped; 6 tablespoons oil; 5 each green cardamom pods; 1 piece cinnamon, 4-inch piece, broken in half; 2 each bay leaves (tej patta); 75 grams onions, (about ¾ medium onion), peeled and finely chopped; 3 each green chillies, fresh; 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, peeled and minced; 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced; 2 1/2 teaspoons ghee, plus 1 tablespoon for separate use; 1 tablespoon red chilli powder, mild, preferably made from goondu milagai; 1 heaping teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi); 1/2 cup tomato puree, fresh; 100 grams tomato, (about 1 medium tomato), chopped; 450 grams prawns, (450 grams after cleaning, about 40 – 45 small-medium prawns), peeled and deveined; 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice; 1/2 teaspoon sugar; 3 tablespoons yogurt; 3 tablespoons coconut milk, thick, 1st press

Prawn Biryani Recipe | Prawn Dum Biryani | Jhinga Biryani Step By Step

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Our prawn biryani recipe (call it jhinga dum biryani or shrimp biryani if you prefer) is a flavourful preparation that combines fragrant rice and fresh prawns with a piquant masala to make delicious mouthfuls. Our prawn biryani restaurant style is cooked on dum which gives it a unique flavour, and is truly a treat for all seafood lovers.

What is prawn biryani?

Prawn biryani is a dish made with layered rice and curried prawns spiced up with aromatic spices and cooked using the dum technique for a unique flavour. The ‘Dum’ or ‘Dum Pukht’ style of cooking this easy prawn biryani recipe calls for a heavy bottomed vessel with a lid. Some of the cooking is done on open flame and for the final cooking, the prawn biryani is layered in the vessel and given the ‘dum’. This is done by covering the vessel with a lid and sealing it with dough after which this easy prawn biryani is slowly cooked on low heat (with heat being applied from the bottom as well as from the top if possible) so that the flavours and aroma of the rice and prawn curry intermingle and deepen in the pot.

Though conventional non-vegetarian biryani commonly calls for mutton or chicken, prawn biryani is equally delicious (if not more delicious) and quite flavourful. Our best prawn biryani recipe comes with an added bonus of not needing the extra time for marination as prawns do not need to be marinated for this recipe. On the other hand, when cooking mutton or a chicken biryani, marination is a must.

How to cook prawns well?

Prawns are delicate and tend to harden with prolonged cooking time. We usually like our prawns soft, but for this prawn biryani recipe we prefer that they have a nice bite to them. Here, we recommend cooking the prawns for 10 minutes to give them a thoroughly enjoyable consistency. However, If you like your prawns melt-in-the-mouth soft, you should add water, cook, and thicken the masala gravy before adding them. After adding the prawns cook them for just 4-5 minutes in the masala , and then layer with rice and put the prawn biryani on dum.

How to make Prawn Biryani well?

A lot of time and effort goes into making of this dish and it is best rewarded when you use the finest ingredients to make it. We recommend you use long grain basmati rice for the prawn biryani. Pre-soaking the rice for a minimum of 15-20 minutes will make the rice grains bloom fully, and that is the hallmark of a good biryani. We use medium-sized prawns but small prawns work well too. Fresh prawns are better suited to the dish but frozen ones work as well provided you thaw them well and drain the water completely. You could even use tiger prawns if you wish.

Using coconut milk in the gravy masala for the prawns is a must if you want to make the best prawn biryani. The flavours of the coconut go well with that of seafood, and coconut even enhances the flavour of seafood. Our prawn biryani recipe uses yogurt in addition to coconut milk as it adds a hint of tang to the biryani but that can be omitted, if you prefer, by increasing the quantity of coconut milk.

Serving Suggestions for Prawn Biryani:

Serve the prawn biryani hot by cutting through the layers. You may wonder what goes best with biryani? You can serve it on its own or along with some pomegranate raita, mirch ka salan, kachumbar, or a simple garden salad on the side. If you wish you could garnish the jhinga biryani with mint leaves and slices of lime. You can enjoy the biryani for lunch or dinner and make it a part of your festive menus.

Variations to our Prawn Biryani Recipe:

If you are a seafood lover and you haven’t tried seafood biryani until now, give your palate a big surprise. You can make biryani by substituting prawns with the same quantity of firm white wish, a mix of prawns and fish, clams, or even crab meat.

Or if you prefer a super spicy prawn biryani recipe, then increase the number of green chillies to six and you are set for a great experience.

You will love this flavourful biryani. Delicious Prawn Biryani layered and cooked on dum. Make this at home with an easy step by step tutorial video above and recipe below

If you liked this recipe, you may want to try our:

Mangalore Prawn Curry
Rava Fried Masala Fish
Queen of Puddings
Biryani Masala Powder
Prawn Roast Kerala Style
Mixed Vegetable Kootu
Avial
Kadha
Coconut Ladoo
Village Style Chicken Biryani

Or see all our Rice Recipes right here!
RECIPE

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INGREDIENTS

300 grams basmati rice, (about 1½ cups), preferably a long grain aromatic like basmati
2 teaspoons sea salt, plus 1½ teaspoons or to taste for separate use
3⁄4 cup mint leaves, packed fresh mint leaves, chopped
3⁄4 cup coriander leaves, packed fresh coriander leaves, chopped
6 tablespoons oil
5 green cardamom pods
1 piece cinnamon, 4-inch piece, broken in half
2 bay leaves (tej patta)
75 grams onions, (about ¾ medium onion), peeled and finely chopped
3 green chillies, fresh
1 1⁄2 tablespoons garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced
2 1⁄2 teaspoons ghee, plus 1 tablespoon for separate use
1 tablespoon red chilli powder, mild, preferably made from goondu milagai
1 heaping teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
1⁄2 cup tomato puree, fresh
100 grams tomato, (about 1 medium tomato), chopped
450 grams prawns, (450 grams after cleaning, about 40 – 45 small-medium prawns), peeled and deveined
1 1⁄2 teaspoons lime juice
1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons yogurt
3 tablespoons coconut milk, thick, 1st press

COOKING METHOD

Place rice in a bowl and wash under running water, gently stirring and mixing the rice with your hands, draining each time the bowl fills up. Do this 2 to 3 times till the water runs clear; then let soak in fresh water, covered, for 1 hour. Drain.

Place a separate saucepan over medium heat, and add rice and 6 cups water. Let water come to a boil, then after 5-6 minutes of cooking, add 2 teaspoons sea salt, and cook another 5 minutes; rice should be soft but not overcooked. Drain and set aside.

Soak mint and coriander leaves in water.

Pour oil into a large kadhai or wok over medium heat. When hot, add cardamoms and cinnamon. Once the cardamoms have plumped up nicely, about 30 seconds, add bay leaves and stir. Follow by sliding onions into the pan and sautéing till translucent, about 1 minute. add green chillies, garlic, ginger, and ghee. Stir and add chilli powder and turmeric. Stir in the tomato puree, diced tomatoes, and remaining salt. Continue to stir, breaking up the tomatoes and scraping the bottom of the pan often so that the masala does not stick.

After about 1 minute, squeeze out most of the water from the mint and coriander leaves and add them to the masala. Once the oil separates from the masala, add 1½ cups water, mix well, reduce heat. The curry will thicken. Add prawns, stir, and let cook covered; remove from heat after about 10 minutes (see Cook’s Note below).

Squeeze in lime juice; mix sugar, yogurt, and coconut milk and stir into the prawn mixture.

Divide the drained rice as well as the prawn curry separately into 3 parts. Layer one part of the curry mixture into a pan spreading it across the bottom of the pan. Then layer one part of the rice on top of the curry. Add another layer of curry, another rice layer, another curry layer, and then another rice layer to make three layers of each.

Spoon the ghee onto the biryani. Cover pot tightly, return to low heat to give it dum for 5 minutes.

Serve hot, cutting through all layers.

Cook’s Note: Cooking the prawns for 10 minutes in the curry tends to harden them, giving them a nice bite…a consistency that is enjoyed by many in a prawn biryani. If you like your prawns softer and of a melt in your mouth consistency, add water, cook, and thicken the masala before adding the prawns. Only cook them for 4- 5 minutes in the masala before layering with rice.

Recipe Credits: “The Bangala Table: Flavors and Recipes from Chettinad” by Sumeet Nair and Meenakshi Meyyappan, with Jill Donenfeld.

Serves: 4 to 6
Prep time: 45 minutes plus unattended rice soaking time
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Tags:prawn biryani recipe, prawn biryani restaurant style, how to make prawn biryani
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