Wednesday 8 April 2009

Prawn Biryani

I hope it was obvious that my last post was an April Fool! I'd have to be really desperate to resort to eating that!

For this post, I am debuting my new Panasonic TZ5 online! It is the most automatic camera you will find, but I am still trying to get to grips with what available settings it has. Unbelievably, it does not have manual focus mode. However, it does have a preset for food pics! The last pic here was using that mode, without a flash. However, I find it less sharp than my old Pentax Optio 30. Any suggestions?

And onto today's meal....
A quick and easy dish for a busy lifestyle!

How this dish turns out depend on what spices you use and also the type of rice. Foe the prefect Biryani, you must use Basmati rice as it has that fluffy texture and ability to absorb the taste of the spices used. Be careful not to use too much water when cooking the rice or it will get crushed under its own weight and become soggy and stick together.


First, I use my favourite curry powder, mix into a paste, the fry with onions, capsicum, ann prawns. After that, set aside.



Then, separately, boil rice. Add one tbsp oil so they dont stick together. Salt to taste. When rice is nearly done, pour in the prawns on top. The flavour of the prawns and spices will slowly seep into the rice for the remaining 15 minutes of cooking and standing time. This is quite different from the traditional method, which require you to bury the meat with the semi-cooked rice, but it is quicker.



And there you have it!

6 comments:

backStreetGluttons said...

we are using tz7 as of now and yes , still coming to grips with its super convenient IA mode. The 12x zoom is fantastic tho !

To improve your food pixs you could try to use different settings/modes not necessarily the food mode.

even the normal mode ( with right adjustment for White Bal) will do sometimes and yes , flash at the right time is appropriate.

Briyani rice here in KL is far too inconsistent and we will try to avoid it in future !

Hazza said...

I'm still struggling with close ups with this camera. Will keep experimenting!

Unknown said...

Great quick meal idea! I think I need to get a rice cooker.

My Taste Heaven said...

You really made me hungry by looking at your prawn birwani.

Hazza said...

Vincent,
I will pop over shortly!

Lannae,
How did you survive so long without a rice cooker??

MTH,
Simple is always best! Hope you hsve satisfied your hunger by now!

Unknown said...

Everyone asks me that! I think I am the only Asian person without one.