Cooking Time-:30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1. Basmati rice-1 1/2 cups
2. Cleaned medium shrimp(deveined and tail removed)- 10-12
3. Oil- for frying shrimp
4. Ghee/ Clarified butter-2 tbsp
5. Chopped onions- 1 cup
6. Diced tomatoes- 1 cup
7. Green chilly and Cilantro paste- 2 tbsps.
8. Greek yogurt- 2 tbsps.
9. Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
10. Coriander powder-1 tsp
11. Chilly powder-2 tsp
12. Black pepper powder-1 tsp
13. Ginger garlic paste-1 tbsp.
14. Chopped cilantro- for garnishing
15. Lemon juice- half lemon
16. Whole blend spice powder(1 cinnamon stick,1 bay leaf,3-4 cardamom,2-3 cloves,1 star anise,5 peppercorns,1 tsp cumin seeds)- 2 tbsp.
17. Caramelizes onion slices and fried cashew nuts- 1 cup

BATTER FOR MARINATING SHRIMP

1. Chilly powder- 1tsp
2. Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
3. Black pepper powder-1 tsp
4. Salt- as per taste
5. Cornstarch- 2 tsps
6. Water- 2 tsp
7. Beaten egg white-1

METHOD

• First make the above mentioned batter and marinate the shrimp. Keep aside for 10-15 min. Make sure the batter is thick enough to coat all the shrimp pieces.
• Clean the rice and drain the water completely.
• Boil 2 1/2 cups water with some salt,1 cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf and 2 cardamom pods and 1 tsp ghee/ clarified butter.
• Add the rice to water and let it cook. Check in between. When the rice is 80% cooked, drain the rice into a colander.
• Now take a sauce pan and heat some oil. Once the oil is hot, put cumin seeds, chopped onions, ginger and garlic paste and sauté well till onions are golden. Add salt and turmeric.
• Add diced tomatoes and green chilly and cook well on medium flame.
• Now add chilly powder, coriander powder, pepper and sauté well. Keep the flame on low and add the yogurt and mix well.
• Add little water and let the gravy cook on simmer.
• Meanwhile in another pan, heat some oil and deep fry battered shrimps and transfer onto a dish lined with paper towels.
• Once excess oil is absorbed from the shrimp, add them to the gravy and keep it on simmer.
• Add the 2 tsp of the whole blend spice powder to the shrimp masala gravy.
• Now you can layer the gravy and rice alternatively in a dish along with fried onions, chopped cilantro and nuts and keep in oven at 350°F for about 15 min covered with Aluminum foil.
• Once out of the oven, mix the rice gently so that shrimp pieces are evenly coated with rice. Do not over mix !
• Serve hot with pickles and salads.