Malabar Chemeen Biryani – Chammanthi Chutney | A Culinary Journey for the love of Biryani

Malabar Chemeen Biryani – Delicious spicy flavorful Biryani prepared using fine grains of basmati rice, spices, and prawns from the region of Malabar, served with spicy Chammanthi Chutney, prepared using spices, curd and coconut!

Biryani has been an integral part of my life. I would say the same stands for many (at least for many whom I know).  I am not sure what makes me happy at times but definitely a plate of biryani. We used to get authentic and varieties of biryani back home. Every restaurant had their own way of preparation and that would be their costliest recipe of pride. Every place has their own flare for biryani and their way of preparation. Once I moved here, I often long for such delicious spicy plate of biryani for my lunch and sometimes, the mere thought of biryani itself enough for me to salivate for it. I could travel miles for the love of biryani. I love biryani of all varieties – Vegetable, prawns, chicken and egg. I recently had prawns and I should say that I fell in love with it instantly. Since then, I have been experimenting various dishes of prawns. And when I bought the book – A culinary journey for the love of Biryani, I wanted to cook each and every biryani mentioned in the book and relish my love for a bowl of biryani. Oh man, you should see my Kindle. They are flooded with various cookbooks and I need to try every recipe mentioned in them. I know that would take an entire lifetime as I keep on adding more and more books to my list.

If you love Biryani and want to explore its diverse range, then you should buy this book. I mean it. They do have a wonderful collection of Biryanis not only from India but from different parts of the world. Not to forget the list of condiments at the end of the book. They are worth to try and you have Mirchi KI salan, raita and Baigan Bharta. Does that sound like a treasure? Exactly, a treasure to be owned and treasured if you love Biryani.

As soon as I bought the book, I scanned it quickly to discover my favorite recipe using prawns. There it is, I found it. But then, this specific one caught my attention and here I am, sharing you one of the famous recipes from the region of Malabar – Malabar Chemmeen Biryani. I paired it up with Chammanthi chutney. And that’s how heaven tastes – delicious spicy biryani along with spiced coconut curd chutney.

Note:

• The original recipe in the books calls for one teaspoon of Red Chili Powder. I wanted it spicy and hence, I adjusted the spiciness according to my taste buds.
• The recipe calls for dry fruits and it is entirely optional. I didn’t add any as I don’t want a pinch of sweetness in my Biryani. But, if you love them, I would say go for it.
• I always use deveined and half cooked shrimp from Target. In that way, I don’t want to devein them. You know, I don’t like the fuss in cleaning prawns. If you use fresh prawns, ensure you devein them and clean them multiple times with water and turmeric.

Ingredients:

For Preparing Prawns (Chemeen):

• 2 cups Prawns (peeled, deveined) I used deveined semi cooked tailed shrimp
• 2 tablespoons Lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper powder (actually I used 2 teaspoons, as I wanted it spicy)
• 1 teaspoon Red Chili powder (I used 2 teaspoons and you know the reason)
• Salt as per your taste
• 1 tablespoon Ghee

For Curry:

• 2 tablespoons Ghee
• Handful of Curry Leaves
• 1 tablespoon Ginger, grated finely or grounded
• 8 Garlic cloves, minced finely
• 5 Green Chilies, slit into halves
• 5 medium sized Onions, chopped
• 2 medium sized Tomatoes, chopped into large chunks
• Handful of Mint Leaves, chopped finely
• ½ cup Coriander Leaves, chopped finely
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 2 tablespoons Garam Masala
• 1 teaspoon roasted Fennel Powder
• 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
• Salt as per your taste

For Cooking Rice:

• 3 cups Basmati Rice
• 1 tablespoon Ghee
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 4 Cardamom pods
• 1 small Onion, chopped
• 3 Curry leaves
• Handful of Curry Leaves
• Dry fruits, optional
• Handful Chopped coriander leaves
• 1 tablespoon Ghee

For layering dum:

• 1 tablespoon Ghee
• ½ cup Mint leaves, chopped finely
• ½ cup Coriander leaves, chopped finely
• 1 tablespoon Garam Masala
• Salt, as per your taste

Method:

Marination of Prawns:

• Mix the deveined prawns with mentioned ingredients and refrigerate them for about four hours or overnight for the prawns to soak in the spices

Preparation of Prawns:

• In a small pan, add ghee and heat it over medium flame. Fry the prawns on both sides and keep them aside. Do not overcook as we will cook them again with curry and rice.

Preparation of Curry:

• In a separate medium sized pan, add ghee; Once the ghee melts, add curry leaves, ginger, garlic and green chilies.
• Saute until the raw smell goes off.
• Now, add the chopped onions and cook until they become translucent.
• Stir in the tomatoes, mint leaves, coriander leaves, garam masala and combine them well
• Season it with salt.
• Now, add the fried prawns and mix them with the curry.
• Cook over medium flame for about 2 minutes stirring them occasionally.
• Sprinkle roasted fennel powder and stir them well.
• Finally, add lemon juice to the curry and remove from the flame.
• Keep it aside

Preparation of Rice:

• Soak rice in water for about an hour and rinse it thoroughly. Drain the excess water and keep it aside
• In a medium sauce pot, add 5 cups of water and bring it to boil.
• Meanwhile, in a small pan, heat ghee; add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, curry leaves and onions.
• Saute until the onions turn slightly brownish.
• Now, add drained rice and saute it for a minute or two.
• Add the rice to the boiling water and season it with salt.
• Cook until the rice is two-thirds done. Now, drain the water and fluff it with a fork. Set it aside.
• If you would like to add dry fruits, fry them in ghee and keep it aside.

Dum Process:

• In a non-stick medium sized pot, add ghee.
• Layer it with half cooked rice.
• Sprinkle some garam masala on top of the rice.
• Now, spread chemeen curry evenly over the rice.
• Sprinkle fried dry fruits on top of the curry, followed by mint leaves and coriander leaves.
• Place another layer of rice and gently pour ghee on top of it. Sprinkle some garam masala on the final layer of rice.
• Cover it with aluminum foil and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes.
• Reduce the flame and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Switch off the stove and let it rest for about 10 minutes or until you serve.
• Gently stir them and serve with a cup of Biryani Chammanthi Chutney.

Biryani Chammanthi Chutney

Chammanthi chutney is a spicy condiment usually served with biryani. It is a delicious concoction of coconut, curd, and spices.

Ingredients:

• 8 Green Chilies
• ½ Cup coriander leaves washed and chopped coarsely
• 1 cup Grated Coconut
• ½ tablespoon Grated Ginger
• 5 Garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 1 small Onion, peeled and cubed
• ½ cup Sour Curd (increase the amount if you want bit watery)
• Salt, as per taste

Method:

• Combine all the ingredients in a mixer jar and ground them into a fine paste.
• If you feel it is a bit thick, add curd and little amount of water. Blend them well.
• Season it with salt and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and burnt garlic cloves.
• Serve it as an accompaniment for biryani.

And don't forget to check out my all-time favorite Prawn Biryani here – Prawn Biryani

If you would love to try chicken biryani, then do check out this famous specialty from Ambur – Ambur Chicken Biryani  And I do have another authentic version of Mushroom Biryani from the region of Chettinad. If you need a protein-rich version of Biryani, then I know you will love this Soya chunks Peas Biryani.

And don't forget to check out my personal favorite Vegetable Biryani from my childhood days.

If you try the recipe, do let me know how they tasted in comments. If you like space, do like and follow my profile at here – Facebook, Google

Yours Truly,

Karthi