Baked Spicy Rice with Coconut and Shrimp

Name: Baked Spicy Rice with Coconut and Shrimp (Jhinga Biryani)
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 1 pound large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined, but tails left on; 1 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt; 1 cup Indian or Pakistani white basmati rice; 4 tablespoons Ghee or butter (preferably unsalted); 1 teaspoon fennel seeds; 1 cup shredded fresh coconut; or ½ cup shredded dried unsweetened coconut, reconstituted (see Note); 1 pound fresh mustard greens, well rinsed, patted dry, and finely chopped (see Tip); ½ cup raw cashew nuts; ½ cup golden raisins; ½ teaspoon cayenne (ground red pepper); 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 2 tablespoons Ghee or canola oil; ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric; ½ teaspoon saffron threads; Vegetable cooking spray; 2 or 3 fresh or dried bay leaves; 2 green, white, or black cardamom pods; 2 cinnamon sticks (each 3 inches long); 1 medium-size red onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced

Jhinga Biryani

Preparation info

Serves
8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

A richly layered rice dish, this features flavors typical of Hyderabadi cooking—an interesting mix of southern ingredients (coastal shrimp and fresh coconut) and the northern Moghalai technique of flavoring clarified butter (here with nuts, raisins, bay leaves, black cardamom, and cinnamon) to make one huge, lasting impression on the folks who are lucky enough to eat it. If shellfish poses a problem, cubes of salmon, cod, or sole are fair game.

Ingredients

Asia
India
Hyderabad
Main course
Gluten-free
Spicy

Ingredients

Method