Best out of less – Fish biryani

It is lockdown time, people!

Wow, in my head it sounds a recess in school but we all know how severely we are willing to get out of this recess. Anyway, so it was weekend until yesterday and I binged-watched all the seasons of Money Heist (all the four), hence my sleep was obviously at a toss. Woke up at 2 in the afternoon hungry, exhausted from all the uneven sleeping, I thought to myself, “Only a good lunch can solve this!”. I visit my kitchen, rummage through my pantry only to see that most of the fancy items have exhausted. My mind screams “Biryani!” but reality seemed otherwise. No basmati rice, no curd, a couple of chilies on the verge of losing its freshness AND a lot less hope. Left with no other option and my mind refusing to give up, I decided to make a less fussy Fish Biryani in a clay pot. I could not manage to take good pictures of the biryani as it was pretty late by the time I finished cooking and my stomach was growling.

This biryani recipe is flexible, because there’s a lot you can do with a few staples in your pantry. Try making this at home when you are not working or are relatively free and you would not regret.

I hope you like it!

Ingredients:

Sri-Lankan Fish Fry Masala:

1. 5-6 Dry red chillies
2. 2 tbsp Ginger powder
3. 1 tbsp Sauf/Fennel Seeds
4. 1 tbsp Haldi/Turmeric powder
5. 1 tbsp Black pepper
6. 1 tbsp cloves
7. 1 tbsp Jeera/cumin seeds
8. 1/2 inch stick Cinnamon
9. 2 tbsp lime juice or Vinegar
10. Pinch of sugar
11. salt to taste

Fish fry:

1. Basa/Bhetki (Any kind of boneless fish) : 6-7 pieces
2. Salt and Pepper to taste
3. Sri Lankan fish fry spice mix (dry-roasted and freshly grounded): 4 tbsp
4. Refined wheat flour (Maida) to coat the fish
5. Mustard oil – 2 tsp

Biryani Masala (can be bought or made at home):

1. Black cardamom / Badi elaichi – 4 nos.
2. Green cardamom / Elaichi – 4 nos.
3. Bay Leaf – 2 nos.
4. Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp
5. Cumin seeds – 2 tbsp
6. Caraway seeds/ Shahi jeera – 2 tsp
7. Mace / Javitri – 4 nos.
8. Cinnamon stick / dalchini – 2 inch
9. Nutmeg / jaayaphal – 1 nos.
10. Cloves / lavang – 1 tsp
11. Star anise / chakkar phool – 2 nos.
12. Pepper / kali mirch – 4 tbsp
13. Fennel / saunf – 2 tbsp
14. Turmeric / haldi – 1 tsp
15. Dry red chillies – 4 nos.

Biryani rice:

1. Basmati rice (I had sona masoori so I used that, turned out well but basmati is preferable): 3 cups
2. A potli of dry roasted whole garam masala spices/ biryani masala: 3 tbsp
3. Salt to taste

Berista:

1. Leftover fried fish oil (Add some more oil if necessary)
2. Onions: 4 nos.
3. Red chili powder: 3 tsp
4. Sugar: 1 tbsp
5. Salt: 1 tsp

Fish gravy/masala:

1. Fried fish
2. Mustard oil: 4 tbsp
3. Ginger-garlic paste: 1.5 tbsp
4. Onion paste: 1 nos.
5. Chili paste (I’ve used green chili, mathania chili (used for colour), Teja Red Chili (used for spice); you can use any chili that gives of the combination of these 3. Boiled it in water and made a paste)
6. Coriander powder: 2 tsp
7. Cumin powder: 2 tsp
8. Red chilli powder: 2 tsp
9. Pepper powder: 1 tsp
10. Sri Lankan Fish fry powder: 4 tbsp
11. Biryani masala: 2 tbsp
12. Salt to taste
13. Sugar: 1 tsp
14. Lemon juice: 2 tsp

Biryani Assembly:

1. Fried potato: 1 nos (Boiled first, then smeared in turmeric, salt, red chili powder and a pinch of yellow food colour and then fried in oil)
2. Yellow food colour: 1 tsp soaked in water
3. Kewra water & Rose water: 3 drops each
4. Ghee (Melted)
5. Prunes/ Aloo Bukhara (optional)

Recipe:

1. Marinate the fish with all the fish-fry ingredients except for flour and keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.
2. Coat the fish with flour and drain of the excess when you’re about to fry.
3. Heat oil in a pan and pan fry the fish pieces. Keep it aside.
4. In the same oil, drop the spices for beresta except for salt and sugar and wait for the oil to turn dark in colour.
5. Drop the onion julienne and immediately put salt and sugar, mix it properly and let it fry till the onions are golden-brown in colour. Keep it aside.
6. Fry the potato and keep it aside.
7. In the same oil, drop all the dry masalas and let it fry for a min.
8. Add the ginger-garlic paste and then the onion paste and fry till the raw smell goes off.
9. Once everything is cooked, add the chili paste and cook until the gravy leaves oil on the edges.
10. Add salt and sugar.
11. Add the fried fish (don’t forget the drippings!).
12. Add lemon juice at last and keep it aside.
13. Meanwhile, cook the rice at 90% with biryani masala and drain off the water.
14. To assemble the biryani, in a clay pot, add bay leaves in the bottom to prevent the biryani from burning.
15. Smear ghee on the bottom and the sides and put 1 part of the cooked rice.
16. Add 1 part of the fish gravy, beresta, ghee and yellow food colour solution on the sides, biryani masala and repeat 3 layers of the same.
17. Top the layered biryani with the rest of the beresta, ghee and yellow food colour.
18. Sealed the clay pot with a foil paper or with a wheat dough and a lid.
19. Keep it on low heat for 30 mins and serve hot.

If you liked this recipe and want to see more of this mother-daughter duo, don’t forget to reach out to us at rannabaati00@gmail.com and our Instagram Handle @rannabaati by Oliva Das. We look forward to your requests and feedback!