Fish Biryani

Do you consider food as a topic of interest? As in ‘Id like to eat/make something with ____ that tastes ____’. Becoming inspired about food occurs rarely because I maintain a recipe-following routine. Fish biryani occupies my thoughts at present. The house eats many biryanis while my traditional fish biryani recipe comes from this exact recipe. Due to buying many Basa fishes which I obtained through the best sales prices I believed my traditional spices might be too intense for the delicate fish fish. The summer season requires lightened-up flavors so I decided to take it easy according to the tastes. There exists no association between white rice and dietary food inside my perspective.

The moderation of oil creates fresh flavors in the dish since it is gentler on both oil-based biryanis and curries. Also, dill and fish equals yumminess. Experience this firsthand or accept my promise because the results will speak for themselves.

Fish Biryani
Serves 6

Fish
750 grams boneless skinless firm white fish fillets
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp garlic
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp salt

Masala
One medium to large onion
6 Garlic Cloves
1 tsp Cumin seeds
¾ tsp Nigella/Onion seeds
3-4 chopped green chillies
Handful of fresh dill
Handful of fresh cilantro
1-2 tsp Salt
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
Two tomatoes
⅓ cup of yogurt – whipped and room temperature
One lemon

4 cups rice

Okay first things first; mix all the marinade ingredients, rub them onto the fish and set aside.

Next ‘wash’ your rice in a few runs of water until the water starts to look clear and then set it aside to soak as well.

 

Now bring out your trusty chopping board. Finely dice your onion – you should get roughly 1 ½ cup – see! I measured even!

 

Now mince your garlic, dice the tomatoes, finely chop the cilantro and dill as well as your green chillies.

Time to cook people. Warm ¼ cup of oil on medium heat in a heavy bottomed pot and add in your diced onions. Once the onions start to turn translucent add the garlic, stir fry for a minute then add the cumin seeds and nigella seeds. Smelling yummy? Good.

Time to throw in your chopped green chillies, let them cook for 2 minutes then add in that wonderfully fragrant dill and my buddy cilantro.

 

Stir the mixture for three minutes before including every remaining masala ingredient. With biryani there are three masala cooking practices that I use to build strength but today I chose to follow a different method for toning down the flavor. Set the heat to medium-low after 2 more minutes before you add the tomatoes into the pan. As we reduce masala cooking duration we reduce our approach to cooking the tomatoes since no caramelizing is needed. Just a nice pretty almost mushy paste. The cooking time requires a small period of duration but you may begin preparing your rice while waiting.

 

Add your pot with enough water that exceeds the rice by a few inches before adding 3 normal baking tablespoons of salt. Once parboiled the rice should have some bit in the middle which remains white opaque while the rest of the grain appears clear; then drain the rice but keep it ready for layering later.

The tomatoes should resemble paste while the oil surface rises above the masala mix before you check the seasoning. This is your absolute last chance to modify the taste of your dish. Check the taste for saltiness because additional salt is necessary if the sauce lacks saltiness. Check whether the mixture has a light hot sensation because additional red chilli powder needs to be added if it does not reach your desired heat level. Good to go? Awesome.

Now add your marinated fish. Caution is essential because handling the fish in wrong ways can easily break it. The covered pot needs 5-7 minutes of cooking time although this duration varies according to your purchased fish type. The key to perfect fish lies in not cooking it over long periods because rubbery texture will result. Add lemon juice from half a lemon above your fish before you save the remaining lemon juice for later use.

Layer half your rice at the bottom of your largest pot. Gently place the fish on top of the rice. Take a quick look at your masala – if it looks too watery then cook for a few minutes to dry up the extra water and then add the masala on top of the fish. Cover with the remaining rice. Top with a scattering of ‘rang’ which is the yellow powdered food color you get in south asian stores. Top with whole or chopped green chillies and cover and let cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes.

Gently mix the fish masala and rice and squeeze the remaining half of the lemon over top. Serve with raita and achar.