Prawn Pulao
A scrumptious and flavorful prawn pulao with succulent and tender prawns that you’ll love to make it over to treat your loved ones. Perfectly cooked prawn pulao, extremely aromatic with each grain separate and fluffy makes it a very sophisticated dish. It’s a perfect meal to add to any menu.
Prawn Pulao is a flavorful and a popular one-pot meal made using fragrant basmati rice, prawn, herbs, and spices both whole spices and powdered spice. Pulao is one dish which is loved by all age and found in almost all restaurant menu.
This homemade prawn pulao is prepared in the simplest way with few basic pantry staples yet it turns out so delectable and delicious.
This prawn pulao is mildly spiced and packed with full of flavor. It is a super easy recipe. Saute the whole spices and the other ingredients one after the other. Then add the marinated prawns, rice, water and cook till done.
Prawn pulao is a perfect dish for days when you want to eat something special, wholesome and delicious but have no time to make an elaborate meal. It is also my go-to recipe to make for guest, special gatherings, potlucks, house parties, or family meals.
You’ll come across slight variations in recipe ingredients and ways of cooking in prawn pulao recipe. This prawn pulao recipe is a simple one with basic ingredients that we already have in our pantry.
WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE USED TO MAKE THIS PRAWN PULAO
● Rice – Using a premium quality rice is important for making pulao or any rice dish. For making this prawn pulao recommend to use aged basmati rice which imparts more fragrant and long grained which doesn’t break easily and stay in shape.
● Prawns – Medium-sized fresh prawns is used here. The prawns are peeled and deveined.
● Fats – I have used both oil and ghee (clarified butter). Ghee is optional here but It imparts a lovely aroma to the pulao. If you don’t want to use ghee you can only oil.
● Whole Spices – Whole spices add a lovely aroma and flavor. Here I have used bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, green cardamom, cumin seeds.
● Spice powders – Turmeric powder, red chilly powder and biryani masala or garam masala powder.
● Other Ingredients – Apart from the ingredients mentioned above the other ingredients used are onions, fried onions for serving (optional), ginger garlic paste, tomatoes, green chilies, coriander leaves, mint leaves, salt and water.
RECIPE VARIATIONS
● You can also use white rice, brown rice or quinoa.
● You can add veggies like peas, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower etc to make it wholesome.
● You can add veggies of your choice or seasonal veggies instead of prawns to make it a vegan pulao.
● You can add cashew or almond or coconut milk to make the pulao more rich and delicious.
● You can use meat or egg in place of prawns.
● You can use nuts and raisin to make nuts and dry fruit pilaf.
I made a simple recipe video of super easy and delicious prawn pulao recipe for my readers which I have shared below. Please do watch and SUBSCRIBE to my channel if you haven’t yet. It will mean a lot to me and motivate me to come up with more videos for my readers. As always looking forward to your feedbacks!
PRAWN PULAO VIDEO TUTORIAL
Video recipe of a different variant of prawn pulao
WHAT CAN BE SUBSTITUTED WITH PRAWNS?
You can use any meat like chicken, mutton/lamb or beef. Simply follow the same recipe. Only the cooking time will be more as meat takes longer time to get cook. The cooking time will differ depending upon the meat you’re using.
You can also follow the same recipe and make egg pulao. Here the marination part is not needed. Just use hard boiled eggs. You can add the boiled egg and cook along with the rice. Or the other ways is shallow fry the eggs (whole or sliced into two) smeared with some spices powder. Once the rice is done just randomly place the shallow fried egg in top. Voila you will get a delectable egg pulao.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Prawn pulao tastes great with plain yogurt or raita. I like to serve it with cucumber onion chilly raita. You can serve the pulao with onion raita, boondi raita, or cucumber raita to name a few.
You can also serve hard boiled egg as side with the pulao.
HOW TO MAKE PRAWN PULAO
Here’s a step by step pictorial instructions on how to make this restaurant style prawn pulao at home!
Soaking the rice:
Wash the basmati rice for 2-3 times. Soak the rice in water. This process will make sure the rice is fluffy and cook evenly. Make sure to emerge the rice nicely in water. Keep aside while you make the other preparations.
Marinating the prawns:
In a mixing bowl add in the prawns. Add in the chilly powder, turmeric powder, biryani or garam masala, salt as per taste. Mix well everything and keep aside.
Making the pulao:
Heat oil in a pan or pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add in the whole spices – bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, star anise, cumin seeds and let them crackle.
Add in sliced onion and ginger garlic paste. Saute until the onions are slightly browned.
Add in chopped tomatoes, slit green chillies and season with salt. Saute until tomatoes are soft and mushy.
Add in the marinated prawns and mix everything well. Cook the prawns on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Drain the water from the soaked rice. Add in the rice, mint leaves and coriander leaves. Give a gentle quick mix.
Add in the water, ghee, season with salt, and give a gentle quick stir.
Cover the pan with a lid and cook the rice on low-medium heat until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked well. It will take approximately 20 minutes for the rice to cook perfectly.
Turn off the heat and garnish with fried onions and chopped coriander leaves. Allow the pulao to rest for 5-10 minutes.
Remove the lid of the pan and gently fluff the prawn pulao using a fork. Serve hot.
HOW TO MAKE PRAWN PULAO IN A PRESSURE COOKER?
Heat oil in the pressure cooker. Follow the recipe instructions as it is mentioned in the recipe instructions. Once you add water along with all the other ingredients, simply close the lid of the cooker and cook on high heat for 2 whistles. Remove the cooker from the heat and let the pressure release naturally.
Once the pressure is released naturally open the cooker, fluff the shrimp pulao with a fork, and serve hot.
NOTES
● Use the correct ratio of water to rice to get the perfect texture of the pulao.
● If the pulao looks uncooked, you can sprinkle some water over it and simmer it for few more minutes before turning off the heat.
● Use peeled, cleaned and deveined prawns.
● You can use shrimps, small, jumbo, or tiger prawns.
● For best result marinate the prawns for few minutes.
● Adjust the spiciness of the pulao as per your heat preference.
● Use preferably heavy bottom pot or pan
● Serve with fried onions, it really takes the pulao to another level in regard to taste. You can use can easily make at home. Just slice the onion thinly as possible and fry in the oil until golden.
● Use both oil and ghee. But if you don’t want to use ghee, use oil alone in place of ghee.
● You can use a pinch of saffron. Soak the saffron in 2-3 tbsps of milk and and pour them over the pulao once it is done. It imparts a rich flavour and aroma.
RECIPE CARD
Prawn Pulao
Equipment
- Heavy bottom pot
Ingredients
For Marination:
- 20-25 nos prawn
- 1 teaspoon red chilly powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon biryani masala or garam masala powder
- salt to taste
Other Ingredients:
- 1½ cup basmati rice
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 1 nos bay leaf
- 2 small cinnamon stick
- 2 nos green cardamom
- 4 nos cloves
- 1 small piece star anise (optional)
- 2 nos onion sliced
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 2 nos green chilly slit
- salt to taste
- few mint leaves (optional)
- ¼ cup coriander leaves (reserve some for garnish)
- 1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)optional (can use butter)
- few fried onions for serving (optional but recommended)
- 2½ cups water
Instructions
Soaking The Rice:
- Wash the basmati rice for 2-3 times. Soak the rice in water. This process will make sure the rice is fluffy and cook evenly. Make sure to emerge the rice nicely in water. Keep aside while you make the other preparations.
Marinating The Prawns:
- In a mixing bowl add in the prawns. Add in the chilly powder, turmeric powder, biryani or garam masala, salt as per taste. Mix well everything and keep aside
Making The Pulao:
- Heat oil in a pan or pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add in the whole spices - bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, star anise, cumin seeds and let them crackle.
- Add in sliced onion and ginger garlic paste. Saute until the onions are slightly browned.
- Add in chopped tomatoes, slit green chillies and season with salt. Saute until tomatoes are soft and mushy.
- Add in the marinated prawns and mix everything well. Cook the prawns on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Drain the water from the soaked rice. Add in the rice, mint leaves and coriander leaves. Give a gentle quick mix.
- Add in the water, ghee, season with salt, and give a gentle quick stir.
- Cover the pan with a lid and cook the rice on low-medium heat until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked well. It will take approximately 20 minutes for the rice to cook perfectly.
- Turn off the heat and garnish with fried onions and chopped coriander leaves. Allow the pulao to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Remove the lid of the pan and gently fluff the prawn pulao using a fork. Serve hot.
Video
Notes
- Use the correct ratio of water to rice to get the perfect texture of the pulao.
- If the pulao looks uncooked, you can sprinkle some water over it and simmer it for few more minutes before turning off the heat.
- Use peeled, cleaned and deveined prawns.
- For best result marinate the prawns for few minutes.
- Adjust the spiciness of the pulao as per your heat preference.
- Use preferably heavy bottom pot or pan
- Serve with fried onions, it really takes the pulao to another level in regard to taste. You can use can easily make at home. Just slice the onion thinly as possible and fry in the oil until golden.
- Use both oil and ghee. But if you don’t want to use ghee, use oil alone in place of ghee.
- You can use a pinch of saffron. Soak the saffron in 2-3 tbsps of milk and and pour them over the pulao once it is done. It imparts a rich flavour and aroma.
If you love prawns as much as I do, try these recipes too and I am sure you will love them. I hope you’ll love to try this recipe and please do share your thoughts about the recipe with me here.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Vegetable Biryani
Pork Biryani
Chicken Biryani
Chicken Rice Porridge
Egg Fried Rice
Pork Chow Mein
Pork Hakka Noodles
Sabudana Vegetable Pilaf
Cottage Cheese Salad
Peanut Salad (Beach Style Sundal)
Well, if you make this easy prawn pulao, please do leave a feedback in the comments box below or snap a photo and tag Akum Raj Jamir on Facebook and akumrajjamir on Instagram with hashtag #atmykitchen. I would love to see your creations.
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. I hope you liked the recipe. Your valuable feedbacks are always welcome, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you.
Happy Cooking!
Love Akum
Disclosure: At My Kitchen is an Amazon Affiliate, which simply means that if you make a purchase through these links, I will earn a very small commission at no additional cost to you!
Please click if you wish to purchase these products from Amazon
Absolutely awesome recipe
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and for the lovely feedback