Kirti's Shrimp and Okra Biryani

When my patient Kirti and his wife offered to bring me some spices from India, I couldn't resist saying "yes please!"  One spice they brought back was a biryani mixture, and Kirti was nice enough to tell me how he makes his biryani. 

I've always said the only way I'll cook Indian food is if I know it's authentic.  I did make a couple of small changes such as adding okra and searing the shrimp (with some research into other biryanis).  Oh, and I used a mixture of olive oil and clarified butter to keep it healthy.   I swear you can't taste the olive oil, so it was worth it.  If you need to know how to make clarified butter, it's easy use this: microwave clarified butter . Other than that, I kept it to Kirti's instructions.  It does take a few steps but they are each fairly easy.  Make sure you make enough for leftovers!  This makes 4 servings.

The cooked okra

The onion and tomato "gravy"

With the coconut milk

Everything comes together

Biryani!

Spicy in all the good ways

Ingredients:

For the Rice:
1 cup basmati rice
3/4  cups water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup coconut milk (I use lite)

For the Biryani:
3 cups okra sliced 1/2" thick
1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger minced
3 cloves minced garlic (or ginger-garlic paste)
1/4 tsp cardamom seeds or 2 pods
2 pinches of cinammon
1 tsp turmeric
dash ground cayenne pepper
1 lb. large shrimp
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, small chopped
3 green chilies sliced thin, or more if you like it really spicy!
extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons clarified butter
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Method:

To make the rice: Rinse rice in colander until water run clear, about 1 minute.  Add rice to medium pot with water, oil, and bay leaf.  Bring to boil and boil uncovered 1-2 minutes, or until bubbles are coming up through rice.  Cover and reduce heat to low, and cook until water is absorbed, about 6-8 minutes.  Rice should be just undercooked.

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil with 1/2 Tbsp butter on med-high heat.  Add okra and 1/2 tsp turmeric and saute until starting to brown, about 4-5 minutes.  Add 1 clove minced garlic and 1/2 tsp ground ginger and cook one more minute.  Pour okra into a bowl.

Add another 2 Tbsp olive oil with 1/2 Tbsp butter to the pan.   Add cardamom, and cinnamon.  Heat over med-high heat, then add the shrimp and saute until halfway cooked, 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the pan into a bowl, reserving the spices as much as possible in the pan.

Add 2 Tbsp olive oil and remaining Tbsp of butter to pan and heat on med-high.  Add onion, season with salt, and saute until lightly browned.  Add green chilies, 1 tsp ground ginger and 2 minced garlic cloves, along with a dash of cayenne pepper.  Cook another minute, then add the tomatoes.  Cook until mixture reaches a gravy, almost paste, consistency.  Add 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1/2 tsp turmeric, pinch of cinnamon, and 1.5 Tbsp biryani spice, and bring just to simmer.  Add shrimp, rice, and okra.  Stir just enough to combine, cover, and let sit on very low heat 10 minutes.   Top with fresh cilantro.

For Raita Sauce:

Combine 1 cup plain Greek yogurt with 1 lemon, juiced,  1 Tbsp minced fresh mint, and 1/2 cup grated cucumber.  Add salt/pepper to taste.