Marinate prawns with ginger garlic paste, turmeric, biryani masala, red chilli powder & salt.

Keep it aside for 30 minutes.

Wash rice a few times and soak it for 30 minutes.

Bring 3 to 4 cups of water to a rolling boil along with bay leaf, cardamoms, shahi jeera, 1 tsp oil and salt.

Drain water and add it to the boiling water.

Cook it al dente but not mushy. It must be firm. Drain the rice to a colander.

Heat a pan with oil. Saute cloves, cinnamon, bayleaf, shahi jeera and star anise in hot oil.

Fry onions until light golden brown stirring often.

Next fry ginger garlic paste until the raw smell goes away.

Saute tomatoes and mint, coriander leaves in the same pan.

When the tomatoes turn mushy, add chili powder, biryani masala, salt and turmeric.

Cook until the oil begins to ooze out. Add the prawns and fry just for a minute for the ginger garlic paste to loose the raw flavor.

Pour curd or coconut milk and stir. Cook until the gravy thickens & the prawns cook fully.

The prawns curl up to C shape when cooked. Do not over cook as they turn hard.

Tiger prawns take only 3 mins to cook. Taste your gravy and add more salt if needed.

Grease a pot for making biryani, add half of the rice to the pot. Level it evenly

Add the prawn garvy and level it. Add the rest of the rice.

Seal with a foil or tight lid and cook on a hot tawa or griddle for 20 minutes.

Allow prawn biryani to rest for 15 minutes. Serve with a raita.