Prawns are great supplier of proteins and low in fat and
calories which make them a healthy food. Prawns are low in saturated fat (which
is responsible for raising bad cholesterol levels in the body). If you have
prawns, you can control the bad cholesterol (LDL) levels and prevent heart
diseases like heart attack and blockage. Prawns fat content is about 1.75 gms,
protein is about 20-24 gms and 100 gms mineral content. This is why prawns have
nutritional benefits. Let’s take a look at the benefits this seafood offer to
us.
Read more at: Click here!
Let me share a recipe which is very popular in my kitchen. It’s
called:
Prawn Pulao -- Chingri Maacher Polao
The Prep
Let’s make a dry spice powder
1/2 tsp Fennel
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp ShaJeera
4 cloves
4 green cardamoms
2" thin stick cinnamon
1 tbsp Javetri/Mace
Pinch of Nutmeg
We will add this spice powder in two steps to the Pulao. We
will also sprinkle a pinch of it on the fried shrimp
25-30 medium sized prawns -- marinate them with salt and
turmeric and 1/4 tsp of that spice powder we just made.
Wash and soak 1&1/4 cups of rice in water
Step
1
Heat
1 tbsp Oil. Sauté the prawns till they turn pink-yellow. Remove from oil and
keep aside.
The oil will now have a beautiful flavor. To that, add 1
more tbsp ghee (clarified butter). Wait for it to heat up. Temper
the ghee/oil with 2 Bay Leaf and 1 Big Brown Cardamom
In few seconds , add 2 cups of thinly sliced onions. Sprinkle 1/4
tsp of sugar and fry the onions till soft and golden.
About 4-5 minutes
Next add 2 tsp of Ginger-Garlic-Green chillies (3-4)
Paste. Fry for a
minute
Add 1 tomato chopped. Sprinkle some salt and cover and let
the tomato cook. Cook for another 4-5 minutes until the oil separates.
Next goes in
half of the dry spice powder
1/2 tsp Kashmiri Mirch(Kashmiri chili powder)
1 tsp of dried mint/ 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp chopped coriander
half of the dry spice powder
1/2 tsp Kashmiri Mirch(Kashmiri chili powder)
1 tsp of dried mint/ 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp chopped coriander
Sauté for couple of minutes
Add 1 cup of coconut milk thinned with water. Let the gravy
come to a boil. At this point add salt to taste and the fried prawns. Let the
gravy thicken.
Once the gravy is thick, remove the prawns and keep aside. Prawn
becomes rubbery when cooked too much so we will add it back to Pulao at the
last step.
Step 2
Meanwhile, in a separate fry pan heat 1 tbsp Ghee. Temper the
ghee with few cloves (4) and green cardamom. Drain the rice and add it to the
fry pan. Fry the rice at low heat till all the grains of rice are nicely coated
with ghee. This will take about 3 minutes.
Step
3
Add the fried raw rice to
the gravy in Step 1. Add the remaining spice powder. Mix gently. Now add water
(1.5:1 ratio of water to rice), cover and let the rice cook. When adding water,
be careful because the gravy already has some water so adjust and extra water
accordingly.
Once the rice is almost
done, add the prawns (that you had removed and kept aside) along with any gravy
it has. Add 1/2 tbsp of ghee. Let the rice finish cooking. Taste a little. If
needed add more salt. Also add 1/4 tsp sugar. Once done, fluff with a fork.
Enjoy!
