Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Gorton’s Seafood. All opinions stated in this post are entirely my own and true to my personal experience while using this product. #GortonsAirFryerRecipes #ad @gortonsseafood

Being an ardent seafood lover and hailing from a costal region, fish and shrimp are an integral part of our diet and our favorite protein sources.  This Prawn / Shrimp Manchurian is a popular Indo-Chinese delicacy all over India. Battered shrimps are fried and then tossed in an aromatic sweet n sour sauce with a slight hint of heat and served along with fried rice or hakka noodles; a wonderful combination which is easy to make and tastes so so delicious!!

The recipe is fairly simple if you use popcorn shrimp, otherwise there is an additional step of frying the battered shrimp. I have air fried the shrimp which took only 6 mins to cook, while I prepared the sauce and other ingredients. Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a bowl, sauté the aromatics till the sauce bubbles up, toss the fried shrimp, and finally garnish with spring onions. You can also add bell peppers as an extra ingredient but is completely optional.

To speed up the cooking and save time, I have used Gorton’s popcorn Shrimp. I have been a long-time fan of Gorton’s products; they are super easy to use and crunchy delicious. To know more about Gorton food products and the availability in your area, click here.

There you go, Shrimp Manchurian … An easy n tasty dinner within 30 mins! Enjoy, Happy Cooking…!

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Shrimp Manchurian

Shrimp Manchurian … A Classic Spicy, Sweet n Tangy Indo Chinese dish, best served as an Appetizer or a Side with rice & noodles. An Easy Peasy Dinner in less than 30 minutes …!!

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine Indo-Chinese

Keyword air fryer, popcorn shrimp, shrimp manchurian

Prep Time 7 minutes minutes

Cook Time 21 minutes minutes

Total Time 28 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• Gorton’s Popcorn shrimp (14 oz. pack)
• 3 garlic pods (minced)
• ½ inch ginger (grated)
• ½ of a medium sized onion (cubed)
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tsp chili garlic sauce
• 1 tbsp green chili sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• ½ tsp black pepper
• Corn flour slurry: 1 tbsp corn flour + 2 tbsp water (mixed)
• 2 spring onions (chopped)
• Oil (as required)

Instructions

• Air frying the shrimp: Remove popcorn shrimp from the package and arrange in the air fryer basket and cook at 400 degrees for 6 mins, shaking halfway through.
• Preparation of sauce: Prepare the sauce by whisking soya sauce, chili garlic sauce, green chili sauce, tomato ketchup and black pepper in a bowl.
• Heat oil in a pan, sauté ginger and garlic. Add the onions and sauté for 2 mins. Follow by adding the prepared sauce, corn flour slurry, and mix everything together.
• Add the air fried popcorn shrimp, toss everything together to combine. Garnish with spring onions.
• Serve Hot! This dish goes well as a side with fried rice, white rice, or with hakka noodles, or is good as an appetizer on its own.

Notes

This dish tastes the best when served hot and crispy, right from the kitchen. Once cooled or reheated, it loses its crispiness although tastes good.

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The name “Biryani” is said to have been derived from the Persian Language, and History has many great stories to say about its origin. Biriyani is basically a mixed rice dish made of spices, meat n rice, and its different varieties and their roots are spread across the Indian sub-continent. Of the many stories behind it’s entry to India, the one I loved the most was of the Great Shah Jahan’s (who built Taj Mahal) wife Queen Mumtaz Mahal. It is said that when she visited the army camps, seeing the soldiers’ weak and under nourished, she ordered the chef to make a dish with all the goodness combining rice and meat, and feed them; and hence biriyani originated and became popular in India…

There are different varieties of biriyani across the various parts of India; however the Nizam’s variation of Hyderbadi Biriyani is the most popular.

A zillion ingredients go into the making of a biriyani, and when mixed all together and cooked, you create a flavour packed pot which is divine. Traditionally biriyani is prepared as “dum” which means slow cooked in a clay pot with heat from burning charcoal. The mouth of the clay pot is sealed with a dough paste made of flour, and the rice and meat is cooked with aromatic spices and herbs until the meat turns tender making it a royal treat.

Biriyani is prepared using aromatic long grained Basmati Rice to Khaima/Jeerakasala rice, depending upon the region of its preparation in India. Spices, curry powders, fresh herbs like cilantro and mint leaves, are used generously in the preparation. Cashews and sultana raisins sautéed in ghee/clarified butter is added during layering which gives the sweetness and richness to the meal. And topping with saffron makes the dish exquisite.

Usually biriyani is prepared as a one pot meal, but in this recipe I have cooked prawns and rice separately and later layered it in a pot. Though the many ingredients involved might seem overwhelming, mastering the art of cooking biriyani is actually simple and involves a few fine steps including layering the dish properly.

Also, Don’t forget to check out my Lemon Dates Pickle, which is a great side dish with biriyani !!!

Enjoy, Happy Cooking!!!

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Prawn Biriyani

Rice, Prawns & Exotic Spices… layered with Caramelized Onions, Saffron and Fresh Herbs... Mouth Watering and Delicious! An Indian Delicacy - Biriyani…!!!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword biriyani, indian food, prawn biriyani

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Author Akhila

Ingredients

For marinating Prawns

• 2 cups prawns
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp garam masala

For preparing Rice

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 3 cups water
• 1 tbsp butter/ghee
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 2 cardamoms
• 4 pepper corns
• 3 cloves
• 1 star anise
• Salt (as required)

For preparing Prawn Masala

• 2 medium onions (sliced)
• 1 small piece of ginger
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 green chilies
• 1 tomato (chopped)
• 3 tbsp yogurt
• ¼ tsp pepper powder
• ½ tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Mint & cilantro leaves (chopped)
• Oil (as required)
• Salt (as required)

For Garnish

• 1 tbsp butter/ghee
• ½ cup cashews and raisins
• 1 medium sized onion (sliced)
• a pinch of Saffron
• 3 tbsp milk
• Mint & cilantro leaves (chopped)

Instructions

For marinating Prawns

• Clean, peel and devein prawns.
• Mix the ingredients of the marinade properly, add salt as needed.
• Marinate the cleaned prawns and keep aside for 30 mins.

For Preparing Rice

• Wash and soak rice for 30 minutes and drain the water completely.
• Heat ghee in a skillet; add cardamoms, cinnamon, clove, star anise, pepper corns, bay leaf, and saute until fragrant.
• Add the drained rice with a little salt and stir continuously for 2 minutes. When the rice starts crackling, pour water, lemon juice and cook till water is completely absorbed. Fluff it up using a fork and keep it aside.

For preparing Prawn Masala

• Heat oil in a pan, shallow fry the marinated prawns on both sides. Remove from the pan and keep aside.
• Into the same pan, add sliced onions, saute until they are translucent.
• In the meantime, grind ginger, garlic and green chilies to a thick paste.
• Add the green paste to the pan and saute for 2 minutes.
• Add chopped tomato and place the lid, cook for 2 minutes until it turns mushy.
• Add pepper powder, chili powder and garam masala, stir well. Followed by adding chopped mint and cilantro leaves.
• Add whisked yogurt, prawns, and mix well with the masala, check for seasonings.
• Prawn masala is ready.

Layering and Garnsih

• Heat ghee/butter in a pan. Fry the sliced onions until they are golden brown. Keep it aside.
• Into the same pan, fry cashews and raisins until they are golden. Keep aside.
• Warm milk in a small bowl and mix the saffron strands, allow it to stand for 2 minutes.
• For layering, into a heavy bottomed pan add a half of all the prepared ingredients as detailed below. The remaining half is to be repeated later as instructed.
• Start with spreading the prepared masala first, evenly covering the bottom of the pan.
• Follow by spreading rice on top of it. Sprinkle cashews, raisins, fried onions, saffron milk, and cilantro mint leaves.
• Repeat the process of steps 5 & 6 with the second half of the ingredients.
• Cover the pan with the lid and cook the biriyani on low flame for 10 minutes.
• Serve warm with pappad, salad and pickles.

Notes

• Coconut oil can be used as a replacement for ghee/butter.
• You can vary the amount of chili and pepper powders to suit your spice level.
• The garam masala I have used in my recipe has been bought from an Indian store (Sakthi garam masala). You can also use a homemade masala which is preferable.

The post Prawn Biriyani appeared first on Pepper Delight.

It’s been a while since I have posted a Prawn recipe, and I humbly dedicate this dish to our stormy weekend. There are a few Prawn recipes from my hometown which I was planning to post but kept on delaying as they were simple and didn’t require a lot of effort. Finally it was during this last weekend that I found a lot of time due to a freezing rain storm, having nothing to do but sit at home. How better an opportunity to clear out a few easy recipes from my cookbook? Also my dear readers stay tuned for a delicious Prawn Biriyani recipe which I’ll be posting next week.

Talking about any Indian recipe, the first thing which comes to your mind is the Masala! We use quite many different varieties of masala in pretty much every dish, and it’s the spices and curry powders which make our life eternal. Though there are a handful popular Indian dishes which have crossed the borders making a mark for themselves globally and even adapted into local variations, still a lot of amazing authentic recipes stay intact within the thatched roofs and the heart of India maintaining their authenticity, flavour and sanctity.

This prawn recipe is quite easy and very popular across India, but the only difference if cooked by a malayalee (native of Kerala) is, the inclusion of coconut. Right from the oil which of course would be coconut oil, we add sliced coconut bites to complement the crunchiness. This dish is spicy, stir fried with onions, ginger, garlic and crunchy coconut bites, and finally topped with some fresh curry leaves. You may skip coconut bites, but I love it..!!!

And did you see that picture below. That’s how to eat like a Malayalee!!! Yes, you eat with your hands, mixing the different curries with rice and at the end you of your meal you lick down your fingers to savor every last bit of the taste. Trust me, that feeling is amazing. (Wohoo, somehow I managed to convince my husband to pose his hands for this click).

Follow me on Instagram, try out the recipes and tag #pepperdelightblog to all your pictures of Pepper Delight recipes you prepare. Rate below if you love it…!

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Prawn Roast

Spicy Prawn Roast in an Aromatic Masala with Coconut Bites… Spoiler Alert - it’s Delicious…!!!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword kerala prawn roast, prawn roast

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 2 cups of prawns (peeled & deveined)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• Fenugreek powder (small pinch)
• Mustard seeds (small pinch)
• 2 sprigs of curry leaves
• ½ cup pearl onion / 1 medium onion (sliced)
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 green chili (slit)
• 1/3 cup coconut (sliced bits)
• Salt (as required)
• Coconut oil (as required)

Instructions

• Clean the prawns and keep aside. Prepare the marinade by mixing chili powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt. Marinate the prawns and allow it to rest for 15 mins.
• Heat oil in a pan on a medium flame, fry the sliced coconut pieces until it starts turning brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• In the same pan, add the marinated prawns, cook by pan roasting on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Into the same pan, add some mustard seeds to splutter (add oil if necessary). Add curry leaves, green chilies, salt and onions. Saute on a medium flame until they are translucent.
• Add ginger garlic paste, saute for one minute.
• Add the roasted prawns into the pan, mix well, and close the lid to cook for 2 minutes on a low flame.
• Open the lid and stir properly, check the salt, and add more curry leaves. Switch off the flame, close the lid and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
• Serve warm with Naan, Bread, Chapatti or Rice.

Notes

Coconut oil goes well with this recipe, it's an authentic Kerala style.

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