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!

Trafford Centre Food Court

Located near Manchester United's stadium is the UK's largest shopping mall, The Trafford Centre. As you would expect from any mall of this size, it is complete with shopping, entertainment and dining facilities. We live about 20 minutes walk fromthe centre and this was what we had last week at it's food court.

Harry Ramsden's is a world famous chain of Fish and Chips outlet and in my opinion, also serve the best battered fish you will find anywhere. My son had the fish bites meal, which consisted of little chunks of whole (not chopped) fish. Batter was light and crunchy and so were the chips.







I had a Karahi Lamb curry from Shere Khan, another popular restaurant name in the UK, mainly in the north. However, this curry was from a large pot and not made to order, so it tasted just ok rather than exceptional. At £5.50 per portion with rice and drink, it's cheap enough and worth the price.