Fish Biryani
I must have called my mom only about the hundreth time asking her how to cook Fish Biryani. My hubby swears that only she could cook it the best and no matter how many times I tried it was never good enough. So you can imagine the joy I felt today when he told me that mine tasted exactly like my moms…phew I finally passed the test. Well that is until I make it the next time!
Mother’s never have any measurements, everything gets dumped into a pot and it’s cooked. It will be the best thing on earth but don’t ever ask for the recipe because you won’t get an exact one. I called my mum asking for the recipe and she says “add a little extra cumin”, so I say how much is extra and then I ask can I add any other spice and she says “add a little ground dhania”, which is coriander. What a mission, eventually I said “Ma, can you please tell me if I need a teaspoon or a tablespoon” and then I was finally getting somewhere…Lol!
Fish Biryani is not so difficult to cook but it is about getting the balance of spices right. And trust me to make it delicious you need a little grease, not that I am fond of too much oil in my cooking but this time I took that chance and added a little more. I suppose it’s why I passed the test.
In an Indian home Fish Biryani is only cooked with fresh fish, straight from the sea into the pot. Ok, I am kidding, not anymore. But it used to be that way. We are lucky to get some fresh line fish every once in a while. You can however, use any fish you prefer.
It is best to use Basmati Rice for any Biryani and a good quality one. Due to lockdown I haven’t had a chance to puchase Basmati Rice. I am quite fussy about the brand I use so I will have to wait until I can get to the shops. Here in Johannesburg there are limited shops that stock good quality Basmati Rice. So I had to settle for long grain rice. Still tasted great!
There are lots of different ways to cook Fish Biryani. I think my mom’s recipe is a little unusual in the fact that she uses tomatoes. Most recipes do not call for tomatoes. It is cooked with spices and yogurt.
Fish Biryani, like most other Biryanis is best served with Raita. If you do try this recipe please drop me a comment, always love hearing from you!
More Biryani Recipes:
South African Vegetable Biryani
Fish Biryani
Ingredients
Marinade
- 500 gram fish about 8 small pieces
- 1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
- 1 tbsp masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- juice of half a lemon
- salt
Rice
- 1 cup long grain or basmati rice
- 2 pieces cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- salt
- egg yellow food colouring
Fish Biryani
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 onion finely chopped
- 1 sprig curry leaf
- 2 green chillies
- 2 large cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground soomph/fennel
- 2 tsp masala or chilli powder
- 4 large roma tomatoes skim removed and pureed
- 4 sprigs thyme
- Handful mint leaves chopped
- salt
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 boiled eggs (optional)
Instructions
Marinade
- Marinate the fish with the masala, ginger garlic paste, cumin, salt and lemon juice for and refrigerate for an hour
Rice
- Rinse the rice well. Cover the rice with water, add the cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cardamom pods, cloves and salt. Cook until the rice is half cooked. Drain the excess water, sprinkle some egg yellow food colouring on top of the rice, cover and set aside
- When the rice is ready to be used you will fluff the rice with a fork so you will get a few different shades of rice
Biryani
- Fry one large onion, finely chopped, until golden brown and crisp, in about half a cup of oil and drain on paper towel
- To cook the biryani add a quarter cup of the oil, used for the onion, to a large pot. Sear the fish on both sides, just a few seconds each until it browns a little on the edges. Do not cook it too long as it will cook further in the oven
- In the same oil add one small onion, finely chopped together with the thyme, curry leaf and green chilli. Fry until the onion is golden brown. Peel and smash the 2 cloves of garlic, add it to the pot and fry for a minute
- Add the spices, turmeric, masala, cumin, coriander and fennel. Fry for at least 2 minutes. Add a few drops of water if required
- Add in the pureed tomatoes and any excess marinade from the fish. Season with salt. Add the chopped mint leaves. Cover and simmer until the tomatoes are cooked, about 10-15 minutes. If it gets too dry you can add a little bit of water
- Remove half the tomato mixture and place in a bowl. Layer half the fish on top of the tomato mixture in the pot. Fluff up the rice with a fork and place half the rice on top of the fish . Spread the other half of the tomato mixture on top of the rice. Layer the remaining fish and boiled eggs (if using) on top. Sprinkle the rice on top. Scatter the onion on top of the rice. Cut the butter into little cubes and "tuck" it into the rice. Pour a cup of warm water over the biryani and cook in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the rice is tender. If the biryani dries up before the rice is cooked you can add a little more water
Notes
- Depending on where you live you may need less water, altitude does play a role in the amount of cooking time required. On the coast the biryani may cook in 30 minutes and thus requiring less water
- You cam double the recipe if you want a larger quantity
- If you not keen on all the frying you can omit the fried onion although it does enhance the flavour of the biryani
- You an also add fried potatoes to the biryani should you wish
Tasted great
Thank you so much Navi:-)
Ou My God! I made it. It tastes out of this world. Thank you so much for the recipe. I will definitely make it over and over again.
Thank you so much Dee! So happy to hear that. Took me a long time to get it right so I’m glad you loved it. Take Care:-)
Hi Lorraine
I am keen on making this recipe, please advise as to which masala you use in the marinade and the fish Biryani sections above. If you make your own masala, can you please share the recipe.
Please also advise on which brand of basmati rice you use.
Thanks
Hi Hussain! I make my own masala, the recipe is on my blog. I also use Maharani brand of Basmati Rice. Homemade Durban Masala
Hi. We are full time vegetarians. How can I adapt your fish briyani recipe with the veg fish that many of us buy. Take care.
Hi Khushi! You can cook it exactly the same way. I haven’t tried it personally as I don’t ever see soya fish where we live. If you use the same amount of the vegetarian version I don’t see a reason for it not to work.
Hi Lorraine,
Thank you for the amazing recipe.
My first attempt at making breyani and it was delicious!
Definitely making this again 🙂
Thank you so much Kimberley. I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Isn’t it great when it works out the first time! Take Care:-)
Wow!! Absolutely amazing! Your recipes are my go to when in doubt!! So simple and easy to follow with fantastic results!! Thank you 🙏🏽
Thank you so much Channell:-)
Planning on making a fish briyani tomorrow… I love lentils in a briyani, so going to incorporate them somehow… Will base my recipe on yours and let’s hope it’s a winner!
As a Jhb boy too, we take what we get when it’s fresh fish.. Found some decent looking ‘salmon’ at Mr B N’s so hope it does the job… 😅
Hope your cooking was a success:-)
Never made fish biryani..looking forward to it…
Made the Fish Biryani today, using Hake and Salmon portions. Tasted divine! Added Fried Potato Slices and Served With Dahi & Rice Paaper… 😋👌
Thank you so much for the feedback. Glad you enjoyed it:-)
Omg this is the best fish Breyani recipe ever! I’ve followed it, it’s my first time making fish Breyani and everyone in my family LOVES it! It’s BOMB! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe, it’s my go-to from now on.
Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed it:-)
Tried this recipe and loved it. It did not last long at all. Have to definitely make it again