Saturday, April 21, 2012

Shrimp and Asparagus Biryani

Yum

I am a big fan of the one-pot dinner.  This Shrimp and Asparagus Biryani was a great one-pot meal.  My family (even the picky eaters) enjoyed this wonderful flavorful shrimp and rice dish with a cool cucumber raita on the side. Biryani sounds like it would take all day to make, but it took me less than 30 minutes to get the biryani ready for the oven and then another 30 minutes baking it before we were eating dinner. If you are not familiar with biryani, it's a flavorful and spice infused rice based dish made with meat, eggs, and/or vegetables.  This Shrimp and asparagus make a wonderful light biryani and it's a great dish to have at a party because it's like a party in your mouth.



Ingredients:
For the rice:
2 cups of rice rinsed well.  I recommend basmati style rice. I also used brown basmati
10 cups of water
6 whole black peppercorns (optional)
4 cloves
4 green cardamoms
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick

For the shrimp and asparagus curry:
1lb of shrimp cleaned
1lb of sliced asparagus
1 and 1/2 cups of buttermilk milk
12-15 fresh leaves
1 medium onion
4-5 dry chilies (broken)
6-10 whole black peppercorns (optional)
6 green cardamoms pods
3 black cloves
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp of coriander powder
1 Tbs salt (or to taste)
1 Tbs of curry powder
1Tbs of canola oil





Directions:

The Rice:
Start by parboiling the rice. You will want to wash and drain 2 cups of rice then add black peppercorns, cloves, green cardamoms, bay leaves and cinnamon stick.


Add 10 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Once boiling allow to cook for 6-10 minutes.  I suggest cooking the white rice for about 6 minutes and the brown rice for about 10 minutes.  Once the rice is somewhat cooked, but not fully, drain in a colander and set aside.



To make the shrimp and asparagus curry:

Heat 1Tbs of canola oil in a the same pan you cooked the rice (to keep it one pot).  Add the curry leaves, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, red chili pods, cloves, cardamom and black peppercorns (optional).  Fry for 1 minute.  Then add onions and asparagus. Fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add the ground spices (coriander, turmeric, curry powder) and salt. Fry for 30-45 seconds.   Then add the buttermilk and shrimp.
When shrimp starts to turn pink (but is not fully cooked) turn off stove. Taste for seasoning.  Butter a baking dish and layer some of the parboiled  rice on the bottom.




Then layer some of the shrimp and asparagus. Make sure you get some gravy on top of the rice.  Layer with rice and shrimp and finish off with a rice on top.  Pour gravy from the curry over the rice.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Place a tight fitting lid or tin foil over the baking dish to trap all the steam.   Cook in the oven for 35 minutes.    Once cooked, allow the dish to sit covered for additional 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy.





Here's the Raita that we enjoyed with the biryani:

Cucumber Raita


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25 comments:

  1. Excellent combo, fabulous and definitely makes me hungry.

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  2. Ramona, I just dazzled seeing your dish. It is colorful, rich, nutritive, exotic! Loved it! I've never seen black peppercorns before and founded them very instigating. I'm curious now - will try to get them here. As for the salad, it is the perfect salad for me! I'll try to make it very soon. Will let you know. Have a nice weekend, you and family. Cheers! Paula www.executivadepanela.com

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  3. I love biryani. I learned to make it only on the stove top but I like the idea of putting it in the oven. I think this would a good way to cook it partially ahead of time too and pop it in the oven before guests arrive. Love the flavors. I have never put buttermilk in curry, sounds good! I have everything here except cardmon pods. I may have to pick some up and make this soon, before I don't have a stove or oven!! Thanks.

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  4. lovely n innovative biriyani...

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  5. You always cook your shrimp dishes to perfection! And here you are doing it again :) Beautifully done! Hope you're enjoying the weekend, my friend~

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  6. What a wonderful seafood twist on biryani - sounds and looks so wonderful for a seafood lover :D

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  7. Right, I'm going to ensure I get all the ingredients to make this! Looks fab!

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  8. I am a big fan of one pot dinners, too! But I am a bigger fan of ANYTHING you make that involves shrimp! This looks sensational. And so great to use asparagus now that they are so good! Your family is so lucky to have you...for many reasons....but for all of these wonderful dinners you whip up! I don't know how you do it! But you do it well! Hope you've been having a great weekend! : )

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  9. I was under the impression that biryani was an all-day kind of dish. My daughter LOVES the stuff. I usually buy it at the local grocery store from the prepared section and she could eat a whole kilo by herself. Great recipe, I will totally be making this one for her!

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  10. I like that it bakes in the oven. Cooking regular rice has always been a challenge for me. You continually turn out amazing dishes.

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  11. You always have such an original dishes, Ramona! I love to learn from you :) The raita sounds amazing!

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  12. Ramona this looks fantastic. Wonderful ingredients in this rice dish. I see some red hot chilis too, love them. Was it real spicy? I have been in Tallahassee the last few days to visit an old friend so I am checking out to see what I missed while I was gone. Hope you are having a great day.

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  13. Congrats on making the top again! You are there for good reason! I am allergic to shrimp, but I am going to try to make a chicken version of this. I know I would love it!

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  14. Wow, loved the photo tutorial..I saw this Foodbuzz... such a unique, yummy way to make biriyani. I love asparagus and shrimp, and will be trying this out soon :))

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  15. I would love to make this for some friends later this week, but can't find how many servings this makes. How many should I plan for...

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  16. Talk about delicious!! This looks amazing.

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  17. Major congrats on your foodbuzz top 9, today!

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  18. Looks wonderfully delicious. I'll give this one a try.

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  19. Every time you post a dish, I'm thinking it has to be my favorite - until the next one comes around. This looks so wonderful and appetizing, I'm glad you can't see me drool over here. :) Oh, and congrats on the top 9!

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  20. What a gorgeous dish! Congrats on Top 9.

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  21. Great dish, love one pot meals. Congrats on top 9!

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  22. I remember seeing this on top 9 and coming over to congratulate but then the flu got in the way.

    I am a sucker for shrimps and this biryani would be just perfect for dinner tonight.

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