Coconutty Salmon and Pimento del Padrone Biryani

Sunday's lunch was a Malabar style coconutty biryani made with brown basmati rice.  Brown rice does not look as pretty as white basmati rice, but it tasted really good, slightly nutty.

This Kerala style biryani was inspired by

Food Workshop  

East, West, and in the Middle

Indian Pot Pourri 

Thanks for sharing your recipe.  Shaheen bought me some Padrone peppers, I could not resist putting them in this biryani, they complemented the salmon very well.  These peppers are the mild peppers you get as tapas in Barcelona.  I had so many of them when I was there earlier this year.

Ingredients

1 lb salmon; cut in 2 inch chunks

Marinade

Juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 tsp tumeric, red chilli powder to taste (I used 1/2 tspn) and salt

2 cups brown basmati rice

2 tablespoons oil

whole garam masala; 1 inch cinnamon, 3 cloves, 4 peppercorns, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 pods cardomom

1 leek (or medium onion) chopped fine

4 small potatoes; peeled and cut into halves

1 cup buttom mushrooms

1 tbspn yogurt

4 large tomatoes; blanched, peeled and liquidised,

1/3 packet of creamed coconut (half cup coconut milk)

2 teaspoon coriander and cumin powder

1/2 tspn tumeric

2-3 garlic cloves; minced

1-2 inch ginger; grated

2-3 green chillies; minced

1 courgette cut into 1 inch chunks

100gm / 4 oz pimento del padrone (mild Spanish peppers) 

Can be substituted by any mild peppers even bell peppers

1/4 tspn garam masala

pinch of saffron; soaked in a tablespoon of hot water

For Tempering

1 tspn cumin seeds

Method

1.  Marinate the salmon in the lemon juice, tumeric and chilli powder and salt for 30 minutes.

2.  Wast the rice and soak in some water for at least 30 minutes.

3. Heat half of the oil in a large saucepan, fry the whole masala; cumin, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, and cardomom, fry until they pop and splutter, add the chopped leeks and fry until translucent, Add the potatoes, fry for a few minutes, add the mushrooms and continue to cook.

4. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli, mix and fry for a few minutes.  Add the yogurt, mix and cook for a few minutes

5. Add the tomotoes mix and fry for a few minutes; add the cumin and coriander powders and tumeric powder and add the coconut cream,  simmer for 15 minutes.

6  Meanwhile, heat the other half of the oil in a frying pan, fry the peppers, set them aside, fry the courgette and set aside, fry the fish until slightly brown and set aside.

7.  Add the fish, peppers and courgette to the tomato mix, add the garam masala, stir and simmer for 10 minutes,  

8. Boil the brown rice in salted water for 20 minutes, drain, rinse with cold wate and set aside.

9. Layer the rice and the sauce starting with the rice and finishing with rice.  I managed to get 3 layers of rice and 2 of the salmon mixture.  Add the water / saffron mix on top.

10. Fry the cumin in a little oil, pour over the rice, 

11 Place in the oven at 160 degree centigrade for 30 minutes.

ENJOY!  I served it with a baby spinach and tomato salad