Ingredients

1. King fish or any firm fish – 600 gms

Marinate

2. Chilli powder – 1 tsp
3. Pepper powder – 1 tsp
4. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
5. Salt as per taste

Gravy

6. Oil – 1/2 cup
7. Bay leaf – 3
8. Cloves – 5
9. Green cardamom – 5
10. Cinnamon sticks (1 inch size) – 3
11. Onion (medium size, sliced) – 4
12. Tomato (medium size, chopped) – 3
13. Mint - 1 cup
14. Coriander leaves – 3/4 cup
15. Ginger and garlic paste – 2 tbsp
16. Chilli powder – 2 tsp
17. Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
18. Coriander powder – 3 tsp
19. Curd – 1 cup
20. Green chillies (slit) – 4
21. Water - 2 cups

Rice

22. Basmati rice – 500 gms
23. Water as required
24. Cloves – 3
25. Green cardamom – 2
26. Salt as required

Garnishing

27. Fried onions
28. Mint – few
29. Coriander leaves – few
30. Saffron colour or biryani colour – a pinch
31. Lemon juice – 3 tbsp
32. Ghee – 2 tbsp
33. Fried cashew nuts – 20
34. Fried raisins – 2 tbsp

Raitha (yoghurt mixture)

35. Onion (sliced) – 1
36. Tomato (chopped) – 1
37. Coriander leaves (chopped) – few
38. Green chillies (sliced or chopped) – 2
39. Salt as per taste
40. Curd - 1 cup
41. Water as required

Method

Marinating

1. Marinate the fish with all the marinade ingredients including salt as per taste and keep it in the fridge for 4 hrs to overnight.

Frying fish

2. Take the marinated fish from fridge 1/2 hr before cooking.
3. Use the same vessel (big enough for making Biryani) for frying the fish in which you want to cook the gravy.
4. Add oil and when it gets hot add fish pieces one by one and shallow fry them.
5. Fry the fish on medium heat and do not turn the fish immediately. You can drizzle some more oil if required.
6. Each side 2 to 3 min is enough or till brown colour comes as the fish has to be cooked in the gravy also, so do not cook fully just cook till that frying colour comes on it. My fish pieces were thick and big. When all the fish pieces are cooked well on both sides, take them out and keep them aside. Fry the fish in batches. Turn them carefully as they can easily break.
7. This fried fish can be used as a starter or side dish apart from using for the Biryani.

Gravy

8. Cook the gravy in the same vessel, in which fish was fried. The idea is to get as much flavour of fish into the gravy as possible, can see the oil colour has changed.
9. Add whole spices and stir it for about 3 seconds.
10. Add onions and fry until it is soft and brown. It will take about 10 to 12 mins. You can close the lid and cook.
11. When the onions are cooked well, take 1/4 of onions and keep it aside for garnishing and use the rest 3/4 for gravy.
12. Add ginger and garlic paste to the fried onions and stir for a few seconds.
13. Add mint and coriander leaves, sauté for, 2min, and then add tomatoes cook for 3min.
14. Add chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder; mix well, sauté for few min, till tomatoes are soft.
15. Add curd and water mix well, close the lid and cook till the gravy is cooked and starts leaving oil; it will take 12 to 15min.
16. Simmer the flame, add salt, fish pieces and green chillies, the fish pieces should be well immersed and coated with gravy. Add about 1/3 cup of water if it is very thick.
17. Close the lid and cook for a few minutes on medium heat until you get to a gravy consistency. It will take about 12min.
18. You can see that the gravy has got to a good consistency with oil on top. The consistency should be such that it is enough to mix with rice.
19. Take the fish pieces with a little bit of gravy and keep it aside.
20. Taste and see if you require any spice or salt and adjust accordingly.

Cooking rice

21. Cook the rice about 3/4 when the gravy is almost ready and keep it aside.
22. You can cook the rice in advance as well.
23. Boil the rice with the other ingredients, with required amount of water. When it is 3/4 cooked, strain it and keep it aside. You can rinse with cold water if you want. While the rice is boiling do not stir very often. In doing so, the grains can get broken. Add required amount of salt.
24. I have added the whole spices. It is optional. You can add a little oil so that the grains do not stick to each other while cooking.
25. Fry the cashew nuts and raisins in oil or ghee (clarified butter) till golden brown and keep it aside.

Layering

26. Add the rice to the gravy. Spread the rice evenly and keep some rice for further layering.
27. Add the fish pieces, fried onions and a few mint and coriander leaves. Arrange it evenly.
28. Pour the remaining gravy, then all the rice on top. Sprinkle colour, fried onions, mint and coriander leaves, lemon juice and colour water (biryani colour), all evenly.

Simmering and mixing

29. Close the lid tightly (can stick the wheat dough, refer mutton dum Biryani with nuts) and simmer for 20 to 25 mins or until the rice is cooked.
30. If the rice is cooked, aroma starts coming from the lid, it means Biryani is ready.
31. After you switch off let the Biryani rest for 10 to 15 mins. If you want you can serve immediately as well.
32. Open the lid and take the Biryani out with a wide spoon.
33. You need to be careful while mixing. Mix it from the bottom to top slowly from one side. Then cover all sides.
34. As soon as you open the lid you can smell the full flavour and aroma from the biryani.
35. This biryani is spicy and tastes good. It goes well with raitha or brinjal curry.
36. I have served it with fried fish and raitha.
37. The combination of raisins and fried cashew nuts gives a sweet taste to spicy Biryani.

Raitha

38. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl with salt.
39. Mix with your hand and crush the chillies onion and tomato slightly, so that its juice gets mixed well.
40. Add curd and mix well.
41. Can add little water or more curd if required.
42. Can add little lemon juice 1 tsp for the sourness.

Notes

1. If the bottom of your utensil is thick the rice will not burn.
2. The heavy aluminium utensils are good as roasting can be done well.
3. If non-stick then take wooden spoon only, to stir the spices.
4. While giving dum or simmering you can keep a flat tava below the vessel and simmer it to avoid the burning of rice.
5. You can reduce the chillies, if you do not eat spicy food or your chillies are very hot.
6. Rice should be 3/4 only cooked, the grain, might have become longer than its usual size, but when pressed in thumb, not cooked fully.
7. While cooking the rice can add few drops of oil or vinegar also, while draining wash it under cold water to keep the rice grain separate.
8. Can fry the fish in tava or deep fry it also, then can add to the gravy, it’s your wish.
9. The gravy quantity should be such that, it should be enough for the rice, when you mix it.
10. If you want to reduce the oil, and then reduce it, it’s your wish. But the onion has to be roasted in oil or ghee well.
11. Carefully add salt for the gravy and rice also. Divide the salt quantity and put, it will be easy for you.
12. When ever I grind 300gms ginger and 300gm garlic paste, I have grounded with whole spice. View my ginger and garlic paste recipe.
13. Can add aloo bhukhara (dry prunes), potatoes and dill leaves (soya leaves) also for a change.
14. For this gravy, I have used water as per requirement, do not use much.
15. Mix colour (kesar) with 2tbsp of water or with milk also and put on rice. Saffron can be used instead of colour or can just like that sprinkle on biryani.
16. Always whenever biryani is cooked equal amount of fish and rice is taken, or 1kg fish for 500 to 700gm rice, but sometimes if rice is more and meat is less, it does not matter.