When you think of Hyderabad’s rich culinary heritage, biryani instantly comes to mind — aromatic, regal, and steeped in tradition. While chicken and mutton versions often steal the spotlight, Hyderabadi Prawn Biryani is an equally irresistible gem for seafood lovers. This dish beautifully marries the city’s signature dum cooking style with the delicate sweetness of prawns, creating a biryani that’s fragrant, flavourful, and truly unforgettable.
What makes this biryani so special is the perfect balance of spices — saffron-kissed basmati rice layered with tender, marinated prawns cooked in a rich blend of onions, tomatoes, fresh herbs, and traditional Hyderabadi masalas. Each grain of rice absorbs the essence of the prawns and spices, making every bite a burst of flavor. The slow-cooking (dum) method locks in all the aromas, ensuring the prawns stay juicy while the rice remains light and fluffy.
With its vibrant colors, tantalizing aroma, and melt-in-your-mouth prawns, this dish is sure to win hearts at your table.
Ingredients
- 8-10 Jumbo Prawns (medium sized will also do)
- 2 big red onions sliced finely
- 2 tomatoes finelly chopped
- 4 green chillies slit
- 12 garlic pods
- 4-5 peeled ginger slices
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 ramba leaf
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup mint leaves
- 1-1.5 cups coriander leaves chopped
- 1 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp biriyani masala
- Whole spices – cinnamon (1), cloves (4), mace(1), green cardamom (3.-4), black cardamom (1), star anise (1), fennel seeds (1tsp), black stone flower (2-3)
- 2 cups basmati rice
- Salt to taste
Recipe:
Before starting the recipe, I would like to let you know that you can skip 1-2 of the whole garam masala if you don’t have the listed items. Also, I am using coconut milk here since curd is dairy and dairy is not supposed to be taken with seafood. You can use any other dairy-free alternative like almond milk or oats milk. However, since this is a south Indian dish, coconut milk seems relevant.
Chop all the basic ingredients like onions, tomatoes, chillies, garlic and ginger.
Keep ready the green leafy ingredients like bay leaf, rambha leaf, mint leaves and coriander leaves.
Keep ready the whole spices (garam masala whole) and the powdered masalas.
Also, keep 3/4th cup of coconut milk and grind fresh ginger garlic paste.
Take a portion of the sliced red onions, add oil to your pan and fry the onions until caramelised. Set them aside in a plate for final garnishing.
Clean the prawns and keep them ready. Marinate it with turmeric, chilli powder and salt. In a Dutch pan (you can use any other pan with a lid) add oil and fry the prawns in it. Keep the prawns aside in a plate. I also did soak basmati rice one hour prior to this preparation,.
Now in the same pan where you fried the prawn you are going to prepare your biriyani. This way the flavor that was absorbed by the oil will add flavor to your biriyani.
You can add additional ghee (clarified butter) or simply add extra oil if your pan is dry.
To the oil add the whole spices saute for a minute. Then add your onions, saute it for a while until onions turn transclucent. Follow it by adding ginger garlic paste and slit green chillies. Then add chopped tomatoes and mint leaves.
Add powdered masala until it is well mixed in the mixture, then add a bit of water so that the masala doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Let it cook for 2 mins then add the fried prawns and mix it. Let the prawns simmer in the gravy for 2 mins, then add coconut milk.
While you added oil on this pan in the first step, on a parallel burner, you add the soaked rice to water and let it boil.
After the water boils, check the rice. If it has cooked around 50% take it off the stove and drain the water. You just need to see when the grain has elongated in size and the rice has turned whiter and opaque. If you are not sure exactly how the rice must look after being cooked 50%, just keep the stove on 10 mins after the water has boiled.
Now add the strained rice to the biriyani gravy. Add drops of ghee on the top and you can add saffron strands (if you have them. Close with the lid. Make sure the lid of your cooking pan is heavy or sealed well to not let out the steam too much.
Keep the flame moderate and let it cook for 15 mins.
Open the lid at interval to check if there is water that is evaporating. Avoid opening the pan often.
After 15 mins the rice must stand on top of the biriyani. Add the fried onions on the top and close the lid again.
Serve the biriyani on a plate. Garnish it with chopped coriander.
I have made beetroot salad to the biriyani. It is a nutritous salad and I will share the recipe on a later post.
