4 dozen prawns, shrimps or 6 fish slices 7-8
green chillies 4-5
onions, sliced finely 3-4
sticks cinnamon 9-10
cardamoms 1/4
tsp turmeric 2-4
tomatoes, skinned and choppcd 2
tsp salt 6-8
cloves garlic, ground 1 lb
basmati rice, soak in water for
atleast 1 hour
10-12 cloves 1
tsp cummin seed 1-2
tsp sugar
saffron for colouring
coriander leaves METHOD:Fry the onions golden brown. Remove about 2
onions for later use. In the remaining onions, add in chopped coriander,
green chillies, garlic and turmeric allowing it to cook for a few minutes.
Add in chopped tomatoes, cook till pulpy, and then add in prawns with
about 4 cups of water. When the prawns/fish are nearly done, add chilli
powder and sugar and allow to simmer till about 1/2 cup of gravy is
remaining. In the meantime, boil the rice with salt, removing
when half done. Drain off the water and cool. In a pan put the reserved fried onions with oil, on a
slow fire and add in cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom and cummin seed
which have been pounded slightly. Allow to simmer for a few minutes and
remove off the fire.
In a large pan, spread half the
rice and layer with prawns, fried onions with garam masala. prawn gravy
and then lastly another layer of rice which has been infused with saffron,
topping it with very hot oil. Cover the pan and cook on a low fire for
atleast 10 minutes. Mix all the palao together, cover and cook till rice
is done
