cooking · Main Course
Prawn Biryani
From a video by Ashus Delicacies · 4 min watch
A flavorful one-pot Indian layered rice dish with marinated prawns cooked in a spiced onion-tomato gravy, finished with herbs, fried onions, and tamarind water on dum.
Main CourseIndian

Source video — Ashus Delicacies on YouTube
From the creator
Total time
~1 hour 30 minutes+Estimated by Unreel from the recipe steps — the creator didn't state this.
Hands-on
~55 minutesEstimated by Unreel from the recipe steps — the creator didn't state this.
Servings
~4 servingsEstimated by Unreel from the complete recipe.
Difficulty
HardEstimated by Unreel from the recipe steps — the creator didn't state this.
Extraction confidence: high
Auto-generated from the video and rewritten in our own words. Double-check quantities against the source before cooking.
Ingredients
Ingredients scaled to 4 servings
- 600 g prawns, cleaned and deveined
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 cloves
- 4 green cardamom
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 black cardamom
- ¼ mace
- 1 star anise
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp black caraway seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- dried red chilies
- ½ cup cooking oil
- green chilies, chopped
- 2 onions, medium, chopped
- 4 tomatoes, medium, chopped
- 3 tsp ginger garlic paste
- ½ cup fried onions
- salt
- chopped coriander and mint leaves, chopped
- 3 cups basmati rice, 70-80% cooked, about 600g
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- fried onions
- chopped coriander and mint leaves, chopped
- ½ cup tamarind water, soaked and extracted
Preparation
- Step 1Clean and devein the prawns. Mix with turmeric powder, lemon juice, and salt. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Step 2Roast the whole spices (cloves, green cardamom, cinnamon, black cardamom, mace, star anise, black pepper, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black caraway seeds, bay leaf, dried red chilies) on medium flame for about 1 minute until fragrant. Cool and grind into a powder to make biryani masala.
- Step 3Heat 1/2 cup oil in a pot. Fry the chopped green chilies briefly to release flavor. Add the chopped onions and fry until they turn light pink and soft.
- Step 4Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry until the raw smell disappears. Add the chopped tomatoes, mix, and cook on medium to low flame for 3-4 minutes until soft. Mash the tomatoes well.
- Step 5Add the prepared biryani masala, 1/2 cup crushed fried onions, the marinated prawns, and salt to taste. Mix and cook on medium flame for 2-3 minutes. Add about 1/2 cup water, mix, cover, and cook for 3-4 minutes until prawns are 80-90% done. Do not overcook.
- Step 6Stir in chopped coriander and mint leaves. The gravy should be thin enough for the rice to finish cooking in it.
- Step 7Layer the 70-80% cooked basmati rice evenly over the prawn mixture. Drizzle 2 tbsp oil (from fried onions if available), sprinkle remaining fried onions, chopped coriander and mint leaves, and 1/2 cup tamarind water. Cover and cook on dum (low heat) for 15-20 minutes until fully cooked and flavors are absorbed.
- Step 8Remove the lid, gently mix from bottom to top to combine rice, prawns, and masala. Serve hot.
Notes
- Prawns cook very quickly so avoid overcooking to prevent them from becoming tough.
- The gravy should have a thin consistency before adding rice so it can finish cooking together.
- 70-80% cooked rice is used so it finishes perfectly during the dum process.