Alma Bax Biryani is a favorite Indian dish, and it’s often made with a variety of meats, vegetables and spices. This Biryani recipe, however, is not your usual fish biryani. It’s spicy, rich and hot, and it’s perfect if you want to spice up your meal without adding too many calories.
There can be no doubt, the food industry is on a roll these days. With the growing usage of the internet and social media, there is an increased awareness amongst the general population when it comes to food. While everyone is looking for some amazing food recipes to try, there comes the question of what to serve once the food is prepared. The answer is always a pot of spicy masala fish biryani.
One of the most popular ways of preparing fish in different parts of the world is by cooking it in a spicy gravy. Known as biryani, this dish is prepared in different ways in different cultures, and one of the most popular ways of preparing fish is by cooking it in a spicy gravy.
Everyone’s favorite meal would most likely be fish biryani, just like any other biryani. I used ready-made biryani masala, as well as my own spices, to make my fish biryani more masala-style. In terms of cooking technique, my second fish biryani dish is quite similar, however the components are different. Fish biryani requires patience and effort, but the final product will be delicious. I’ve said in every recipe that whether you want to make the biryani spicy or mild is entirely up to you. Adjust the amounts of spieces appropriately if you want this fish biryani to be light. If you don’t have any of the necessary spices in your kitchen, simply skip them and your biryani should still be OK.
When making fish biryani, you must use extreme caution. Fish is very fragile, and it is easy to break it while you are handling it. The biryani seems to be a highly crimson color in the photo since extra biryani color dropped into the rice by accident from my fingers. So use caution while adding it; nevertheless, there was no change in flavor; it was as delicious as before, just the color was darker. It makes no difference to me as long as the flavor is enjoyable. However, I will not make the same mistake again. It’s hot and has a distinct flavor, as well as a distinct taste. This is due to the addition of dill or soybean leaves, which you can see in the photo. I always cook to my taste and my preferences for spices and ingredients, so if you don’t have or don’t like any spice, you may modify or skip it. It is entirely up to you how much oil or ghee to use; I am just providing you with delicious cuisine that I like.
You may use king fish, kodduva (tamil), sea bass, tilapia, pompfret, or any firm fish you want for fish biryani. You may also use boneless fish, however I didn’t use boneless chunks and instead utilized fish bones. I used king fish, which only has one bone. It will be easier to cook if the fish is chopped into medium-sized pieces. Use thicker fish slices instead of tiny ones, since they are more likely to shatter.
Dill or soybean leaves have a pungent aroma and flavor. If you use Google to search for dill leaves, you will get a wealth of information. I did not use entire spices in the curry since biryani masala is used; however, I did use whole spices in the rice, which is optional.
Ingredients
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- 700 gms king fish
Marinate
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- 1 tsp. Biryani masala (aachi biryani masala)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 tsp ginger and garlic paste
Curry
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- 3/4 cup of oil
- 4 to 5 medium onions
- 2 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
- 2 tbsp biryani masala (aachi or shakthi brand)
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 cup curd (thick)
- 3/4 cup coriander leaves
- 1 1/4 cup dill leaves
- 7 green chillies, slit
- a pinch of salt (to taste)
- 1 cup of water
Rice
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- 3/4 teaspoon black cumin seeds
- 4 green cardamoms
- Cloves — 4 cloves
- 3 cups of rice
- Water (as needed)
Layering/garnishing
- 3/4 cup mint leaves
- 4 to 5 tbsp lemon juice
- Onions fried
- a smidgeon of color
Method
- Set aside the onions, which have been sliced.
- Roughly chop the soya/dill leaves and set aside. Its stems should be discarded, and just the leaf portion should be eaten like mint leaves.
- Coriander leaves and stalks, coarsely chopped.
- Slit the chilies and toss them in.
Marinate
- To begin, marinate the fish in all of the marinade ingredients, adding salt to taste, and cover the bowl in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight.
preparing gravy
- Take a large utensil and add 1/2 cup oil, reserving the rest for frying fish. When the oil is heated, swirl it for 3 seconds, then add the onions and fry until soft and golden, around 10-12 minutes.
- When the onions are done, set aside 1/4 of them for garnishing and the remaining 3/4 in a dish for gravy.
- Because no tomatoes are used in this recipe, there should be enough onion for the gravy.
Fry the fish
- Remove the marinated fish from the fridge 1/2 hour before cooking.
- Add the marinated fish to the same pot in which the onions were cooked, and fry it in the same oil. If there isn’t any oil, utilize what’s left. Fry the fish on medium heat, but don’t flip it right away. From the leftover oil that we set aside, sprinkle some oil on the fish in between. Remove and set aside all of the fish pieces after they have been thoroughly fried on both sides. Cook the fish in batches and flip it gently to avoid breaking it.
preparing the gravy
- Gravy must be made in the same vessel in which the fish was fried, with the goal of capturing the fish flavor in the gravy.
- The leftover masala after frying the fish may be scratched and added to the onions to cook the gravy; the gravy will be more tasty and the fish flavor will be retained. There’s no reason to throw away the leftovers of a fish fry.
- If it’s extremely black and bitter, don’t add it; it may be discarded.
- Now add the remaining oil and the 3/4 of the onions that we saved in a dish, keep the pot heated, and mix everything together.
- When the onions get hot, add ginger & garlic paste, turmeric powder, chilli powder, curd, coriander leaves, dill leaves, mix well, if it is thick add the water 1/2cup and cook for the gravy.
- Stir rapidly after adding the curd to avoid it curdling. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After a few minutes of roasting, all of the ingredients will have lost their oil; add water for the gravy needed as soon as possible before it becomes dry, and salt to taste. Cook for a few minutes over medium heat with the lid closed. Between stirrings, you’ll see that a thick gravy consistency has developed.
- The gravy should be sufficient to coat the rice.
- Now add the fish pieces and green chilies to the gravy and cook for 10 to 15 minutes on low heat with the lid closed.
- After 10 to 15 minutes, a nice consistency of gravy with oil on top has developed. Remove the only fish pieces again; if some gravy comes out with the fish pieces, that’s OK; set it aside.
- Taste to determine if any more spice or salt is required.
- We should cook the rice to 3/4 doneness while making the gravy and set it aside.
- Cook the rice, or prepare it ahead of time.
preparing rice
- While the rice is boiling, add the other ingredients and cook until it is 3/4 done. Strain the rice and set it aside, rinsing it in cold water if desired to prevent sticking. The grain may shatter if it is not stirred often during boiling. As needed, season with salt. The rice must still be uncooked.
Layering
- As soon as the rice is done, place it immediately on top of the gravy, spread it out evenly, mix it in, and bring the gravy up higher on top.
- Reserving some rice for layering, add the fish pieces and equally distribute them, then pour the remaining rice, followed by the leftover gravy.
- Then equally distribute the color, fried onions, mint leaves, and lemon juice.
- Mix it gently enough to incorporate the rice into the sauce without breaking the fish chunks, or leave it for dum.
- As you can see in the photo, the rice is thoroughly saturated in the sauce since it is still raw and will absorb all of the liquid once cooked.
- Close the lid firmly and cook on low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rice is done.
- The rice will not burn if the bottom of the spoon is thick. If you wish to prevent this, place a thick pan or tava underneath the utensil and cook the rice on a low heat. After that, you can either turn it off and let it to rest for 10 to 15 minutes, or you may serve it.
Whether you’re simmering or dum
- To prevent rice from burning when providing dum or simmering, place a flat tava underneath the pot and simmer it.
- When the rice is cooked and the dum is simmering, the fragrance comes from the rice. It indicates that the biryani is nearly done.
- After a while, lift the lid and remove the biryani using a broader spoon, gently mixing from one side alone.
- Mix it from the bottom up, from the sides, to ensure that the gravy and rice are well combined. The entire flavor and fragrance of the biryani may be detected as soon as the lid is opened.
- This spicy biryani tastes great and works well with any raitha, brinjal curry, or any other dish.
Notes
- In my previous fish biryani, I cooked the fish first, then fried the onions in the same pot and oil. You may make it anyway you want.
- I used a ready-made masala from the south of India, which included chilli powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and other spices. If you’re using another biryani masala, start with a smaller amount and work your way up.
- If you don’t have any biryani masala, add 2 teaspoons garam masala to the sauce and taste the difference.
- If you don’t like spicy cuisine or your chilies are extremely hot, you can cut down on the chillies.
- Rice should only be 34% cooked; the grain may have grown longer than normal, but when pushed in the thumb, it is not completely cooked. While cooking the rice, a few drops of oil or vinegar may be added, and after draining, the rice should be washed under cold water to keep the grains distinct. Alternatively, when the gravy is nearly done, boil the rice while the chicken is simmering and then add it to the sauce during layering. There’s no need to set aside the rice as well. This may be done just after the rice has been cooked.
- When you mix the rice and gravy together, the amount of sauce should be adequate to cover the rice.
- I did not use tomatoes in this recipe; however, you may do so when preparing the seasonings and roasting the dish.
- It’s entirely up to you whether you want to decrease the amount of oil used, and then lower it more. However, the onion must be thoroughly cooked in oil or ghee.
- Add salt to the gravy and rice with care. It will be simple for you to divide the salt amount and place it.
- When I crush 300 grams of ginger and 300 grams of garlic paste, I use entire spices. See my recipe for ginger and garlic paste.
- You may substitute mint and coriander leaves for dill leaves if you don’t like them. You may also decrease the amount of dill leaves if you believe it’s too much. I cut dill leaves coarsely but not mint; if you like, you may do so as well.
- I used as much water as I needed for this gravy, but don’t use too much.
- Color is mixed with 2 tbsp of water or milk, and then applied on rice. Saffron may be used as a substitute for color or simply sprinkled over biryani.
- When making biryani, always use the same quantity of fish and rice, or 1kg fish for 500g rice. It doesn’t matter whether the rice is greater and the meat is less if the rules are broken.
- Layering or just adding rice and other ingredients to the gravy as we do in dum biryani (no layers of sauce and rice as shown in earlier chicken dum biryani 1) are both options in this biryani.
Masala biryani is one of my favourite dishes, but it requires great precision to make it rightly. I have made it many times in the past, but if you want to make it as perfect as possible, it is important to get the recipe right. You are supposed to cook the rice properly, which is not always easy, as it is very different from rice that you buy in the shops.. Read more about fish biryani recipe pakistani and let us know what you think.
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