Prawn biryani recipe – Aromatic basmati rice dum cooked with prawns, herbs & spice powders. Biryani is a delicious dish made by cooking fragrant basmati rice with meat, yogurt, spices & herbs. Chicken biryani & mutton biryani are the much popular versions loved by biryani lovers.
Prawn biryani is simply another variation made on the same lines just by replacing chicken & mutton with prawns or shrimps. Since the cook time for prawns is lesser the way I dum cook them in a biryani is different.
This prawn biryani recipe is the way I make for the foodies at home. It is much simpler to make than any other biryani varieties.
A simple salan or gravy, a raita or a bowl of fresh veggie salad goes well with this biryani. To keep the recipe simple, I have not used saffron, milk or even fried onions. So feel free to use all of them if you like the flavors of saffron & fried onions.
I have made this prawn biryani using fresh black tiger prawns. Any variety of fresh or frozen prawns or shrimps can be used.
If you are using frozen prawns or one that is not very fresh, i suggest soaking them in vinegar for a while and rinsing. To prepare the gravy i used little coconut milk. Packed or fresh homemade coconut milk can be used.
I do not like to use yogurt for prawn biryani, hence i have used coconut milk. Using coconut milk for sea food lends a good taste and flavor. This prawn biryani recipe works good with yogurt as well.
Tips to make prawn biryani
- Choose aged premium quality basmati rice as it cooks up to fluffy long grains.
- Soaking the rice & cooking in surplus water helps to get rid of starch and keep the grains non sticky.
- Overcooking prawns will make them hard. So just cook until they curl up to C shape.
- Layering the prawn masala over the rice is the key to the best texture of prawns.
- Avoid layering cooked prawns at the bottom of the pot as they continue to get cooked during the dum process.
Overcooked prawns often turn rubbery, chewy and hard.
You may like to check more prawn recipes
Prawn pakoda
Easy prawn curry
Prawn stir fry
Andhra style prawns
Easy prawn biryani recipe
Prawn biryani recipe | Prawn dum biryani | Prawn recipes
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
Ingredients for prawn biryani rice
- 1¼ cups basmati rice
- 1 small bay leaf
- 2 to 3 green cardamoms
- ½ teaspoon shahi jeera
marination ingredients
- 250 grams prawns or shrimps (cleaned)
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon biryani masala
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
Biryani gravy ingredients
- 2 to 3 tablespoon oil or ghee
- 1 bay leaf or tej patta
- 1 inch cinammon or dalchini
- 1 small star anise
- 2 green cardamoms or elaichi
- 4 to 5 cloves
- ½ teaspoon shahi jeera or cumin
- 1 large onion sliced thinly
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 medium tomato deseeeded & chopped
- 2 tablespoon coriander leaves chopped finely
- 2 tablespoon mint leaves or pudina chopped
- 1 teaspoon biryani masala
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- salt as needed
- ¼ cup curd (yogurt) or coconut milk at room temperature
How to make the recipe
Preparation for prawn biryani
- Marinate prawns with ginger garlic paste, turmeric, biryani masala, red chilli powder, lemon juice & salt.
- Keep it aside for 30 minutes.
- Wash rice a few times and soak it for 30 minutes.
- Bring 3 to 4 cups of water to a rolling boil along with bay leaf, cardamoms, shahi jeera, 1 tsp oil and salt.
- Drain water and add it to the boiling water.
- Cook it al dente but not mushy. It must be firm. Drain the rice to a colander.
Making graving
- Heat a pan with oil. Saute cloves, cinnamon, bayleaf, shahi jeera and star anise in hot oil.
- Fry onions until light golden brown stirring often.
- Next fry ginger garlic paste until the raw smell goes away.
- Saute tomatoes and mint, coriander leaves in the same pan.
- When the tomatoes turn mushy, add chili powder, biryani masala, salt and turmeric.
- Cook until the oil begins to ooze out. Add the prawns and fry just for a minute for the ginger garlic paste to loose the raw flavor.
- Pour curd or coconut milk and stir. Cook until the gravy thickens & the prawns cook fully.
- The prawns curl up to C shape when cooked. Do not over cook as they turn hard.
- Tiger prawns take only 3 mins to cook. Taste your gravy and add more salt if needed.
How to make prawn biryani
- Grease a pot for making biryani, add half of the rice to the pot. Level it evenly
- Add the prawn garvy and level it. Add the rest of the rice.
- Seal with a foil or tight lid and cook on a hot tawa or griddle for 20 minutes.
- Allow prawn biryani to rest for 15 minutes. Serve with a raita.
NUTRITION
Notes
- Avoid adding prawn gravy at the bottom as it over cooks the prawns.
- I have layered the gravy in the center and at the bottom to avoid overcooking the prawns.
- Avoid overcooking prawns as they turn hard & rubbery.
- Avoid using chilled coconut milk or yogurt. Bring it to room temperature and use.
Preparation for prawn biryani recipe
1. Drain the water completely from prawns, add chili powder, turmeric, salt, masala powder and little lemon juice.
2. Marinate and rub them gently for a while with the marinade. Set aside for at least 30 minutes. You can also do this the previous night and refrigerate.
3. Wash and soak rice for about 30 minutes. Drain off completely. Bring 3 to 4 cups of water to a boil with salt, a bay leaf, 4 green cardamoms, 1/2 tsp shahi jeera. Add rice to the pot and cook until fully done but al dente. It should remain grainy, firm and not mushy.
How to make prawn biryani
4. Heat oil in a pan, Add bay leaf, shahi jeera, cloves, cardamom, star anise and cinnamon. Use just an inch of cinnamon, i used ceylon cinnamon hence used a bit more.
This shrimp biryani needs a little more oil than the other non-veg biryani recipes since prawns do not release much fats when cooked. Stick on to the quantity mentioned in the recipe else biryani may turn dry.
5. When they begin to splutter, add sliced onions. Separate the layers of onions before adding. Fry until brown or golden.
6. Browned onions lend a good flavor, so don’t skip this. You can set aside a few for garnishing. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off.
7. Add chopped tomatoes, mint and coriander leaves. Cook until the tomatoes turn soft.
8. Next add turmeric, red chili powder, biryani masala powder . I also added a bit of coriander powder since my masala powder was very strong.
9. Cook until the oil begins to separate.
10. Add marinated prawns.
11. Fry just for a minute.
13. Let the flame remain low. Pour slightly thick coconut milk and stir. If you do not follow any food combining rules of compatibility you can use yogurt/curd as well instead of coconut milk.
14. Cook until the gravy thickens & prawns are cooked through. Prawns take just 3 minutes to cook. They curl up to C shape when cooked through. Off the stove and set the pan aside. The color of the gravy is dark due to the brown onions.
Layering prawn biryani
15. Grease a pot for dum process / slow steam process. Layer half of the rice.
16. Next layer the gravy.
17. Layer the rice. You can add 1/4 cup rice to the pan (used for cooking prawns), stir and add back the rice to the biryani pot. This makes the top layer colorful and flavorful without the use of saffron. Add coriander and mint leaves.
18. Cover with a foil or tight lid. Heat a griddle or tawa until hot enough. Place the biryani pot on the hot griddle / pan or tawa and dum / slow cook for 15 to 20 minutes on a very low flame.
Dum is a slow cooking method where steam is trapped in a pot by sealing the rim to prevent the steam from escaping. The food gets cooked due to trapped steam which makes the food flavorful and delicious.
Allow it to rest for at least 15 minutes after the dum.
Serve prawn biryani with onion and lemon wedges.
Priya says
Hi Swasthi,
What kind of coconut milk do you add? The one that is thick (greek yoghurt like), or watery (like normal milk, almond milk etc) or the canned one that is kind of creamy?
Love the recipe with yoghurt, now I want to try with coconut milk <3
swasthi says
Hi Priya
I use slightly thick homemade coconut milk. The consistency would be in between the canned and the thin normal milk. If you are using the creamy one then dilute it and use. Thanks for trying
Fong Chandra says
Thank you for the prawn biryani and prawn curry recipes. it was so good My family and friends love it. =D
swasthi says
Welcome Fong,
Glad you all liked the recipes. Thank you so much.
🙂
Nolene says
Fantastic recipe, my family loved the meal.
swasthi says
Thanks Nolene
Zareen says
This recipe is awesome.. thank you 🙂 the biriyani turned out to be very delicious. As a matter of fact all your recipes are fantastic 😊
swasthi says
Welcome Zareen,
Thank you so much for trying.
siddhi dessai says
made the biryani yesterday n it was really loved by everyone
thank u
swasthi says
Welcome Siddhi
Pushparaj Santhosh says
Hi swasthi,
Is it one and a half cup cooked or uncooked rice bcoz it seems like I’m using a lot of rice in the finished product.
swasthi says
Hi Pushparaj
It is 1 & a half cup uncooked rice. However you can also reduce the rice if you prefer lot of masala and spice in your biryani. The ingredients mentioned above went well for most readers. Guess i am late in replying
Pushparaj Santhosh says
Thanks a lot Swathi. I’m a beginner and I’m trying all your dishes one by one. Kudos to the good work and thanks for inspiring a lot like me 🙂
Sangeeta says
I took 1 cup rice..and increased the onions, tomatoes and dry masalas.
Thanks…it was very good.
Can you please share an easy recipe for rasam.
swasthi says
Hi Sangeeta,
You are welcome. You can check these recipes – Tomato rasam and Instant rasam.
Anantha says
Your recipies are awesome , inspired me to cook , as it serves as a great guide improving my culinary skills , bring happiness and cheer to my fmly during my time in the kitchenk on sundays
swasthi says
Hi! Thank you so much for the comment.
Very glad to know the recipes are useful.
Rheena says
Thank you swasthi, it turned out awesome!
swasthi says
Welcome Rheena
Glad to know it turned out good.
Thanks for the comment.
Sarah Jason says
Sorry can i cook the rice in a rice cooker? or if it has to be in a pot, takes about how many minutes?
swasthi says
Hi Sarah
Yes you can cook in rice cooker. But it has to be al dente and grainy. Not mushy. Cooking rice in a pot for a specific time may not yield good results every time. The timings vary depending on the kind of rice used and the intensity of the flame. You will have to cook the rice just until al dente. Hope this helps.
Uma says
Thank you very much for sharing reciepe..I made this today and it turned out so delicious..
swasthi says
Welcome Uma. Thanks for trying. Happy to know it turned out good.
Teju says
Hi swasthi.. I want you to know that your recipes are awesome and I learned how to cook from you only.. Thanks a lot. Your recipes made me my hubby’s favorite cook. I barely know about cooking till my Marriage. I have been following your recipes since day 1 of my married life. Thank you so much and keep posting your new recipes?
swasthi says
Welcome Teju,
Very happy to know the recipes were helpful. Thanks a lot for the comment, made me happy. Yes will surely keep posting
🙂
josna says
I tried ur recipe the prawns biryani came out very good thank u very much please continue writing many more recipes
swasthi says
Welcome Josna
Thanks a lot for trying and the comment too. Yes will surely keep posting.
Kazi Nabi says
What is Biryani masala? Do you mean the packed Biryani masala (Shan, National etc..) those are available at the grocery stores. Or do you have a combination of spices ground to powder form? I surely would like to try this recipe.
swasthi says
Hi Kazi Nabi
Biryani masala is dry spice powder. If you want to make your own you can check this link biryani masala powder. You can use any ready made masala powder like you said shan or national etc. If you are using ready made one just make sure you use just enough and not a lot as these are too hot & spicy than the homemade powder. DO try it
Manisha says
Did exactly as mentioned here.. thought tomato and curd would make it taste sour.. so added bit of salt too.. but it turned out to be very sour..
And usually the rice for biryani is half cooked.. but here it was mentioned to use fully cooked rice.. the end product was mushy and sour combination of prawn and rice.. it tasted awful
swasthi says
Hi Manisha
This recipe has been tried and tested not only by me but also by many other readers. You can check the comments below. Firstly 1/4 cup of curd and 1 medium tomato would never make a 3 serving biryani sour unless you have used very sour curd. The recipe calls for 1.5 cups rice in which usually 1/2 cup curd is used as a standard. But this recipe uses only 1/4 cup curd. Next about the rice for biryani, different recipes call for cooking rice differently. Only for kachi chicken or mutton biryani, rice is half cooked as the meat takes lot of time to cook and will let out so much moisture. This would generate enough steam/dum for the half cooked rice to steam and get cooked completely. But in this recipe the prawns are already cooked before layering so there is actually nothing that gets cooked to let out more moisture. I wonder how your biryani turned mushy unless you have overcooked the rice. I understand you went wrong following the recipe:
1. You have overcooked the rice – Recipe calls for cooking rice to grainy which means al dente and not mushy.
2. You have used sour curd which made the biryani sour.
I make recipes that are 100% fool proof and I never make recipes to kill others time and energy.
Venecia says
Prawn biryani recipe is amazing. I made it and it turned out very delicious. Thanks
SF says
The prawn dum biryani is a no fuss recipe. I tried it today and it tastes as delicious as it looks. Wish I could post a pic for you to see.
Seema says
I tried pronze biryani for the first time and it turned out amazing.. Just have to work out on rice to be non sticky enough. Thanks Swasthi
Sanisha DLima says
Hello again Swasthi,
I tried your prawn biryani last Sunday.. n it turned out superb!!!
Everyone at my home was so happy n content after having it.. I got a lot of compliments… All thanks to you… ?
Today I am going to try Chicken dum biryani (kachhi).. will let you know how it turns out..
Thank you for posting such wonderful n detailed recipes
Malar says
Hi Swathi,
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I’d like to know if I’m serving this Briyani for 4, how many cups of rice should I use and water to cook the rice. It’s my first time cooking so would like to ace it 🙂
swasthi says
Welcome Malar,
Double the recipe to serve 4 to 5 people including water as mentioned in step by step photo instructions.
SANGEETHA RAMAN says
Swasthi..
My prawn Biriyani according to my son was outstanding..
Tks to you..
I tried the Dum method swasthi and came out really well!
????
swasthi says
Welcome Sangeetha
Happy to know it turned out good.
Thanks for trying and sharing your joy.
🙂
Wynetta says
Turned out extremely delicious.
swasthi says
Thanks for sharing the outcome