A question about a recipe: Shrimp Biryani (Indian Shrimp and Rice)

In this recipe, the cilantro is used as part of a flavor paste in 2 parts of the dish, so it isn't as simple as just serving the chopped cilantro on the side. I suppose you could use a mix if parsley, basil and mint. You won't have the juicy cilantro stems to keep it wet so you might need to add water as directed. I'd still add some chopped cilantro on the side so folks can help themselves and sprinkle on top; for those of us who don't taste the soap, there's really nothing like it, it makes everything taste fresh and vibrant.

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Sam1148 added over 2 years ago

My SO has the cilantro hate. But we've discovered it's the leafy bits he reacts too, the stems and roots he has no problem.

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For transportation, make the rice and wrap it in towels to keep warm. I think you could cook the shrimp, just barely and it would keep warm on top of the rice for 20 or 30 minutes. Otherwise you will have to take the raw shrimp the paste, the oil, a pan and it will just take a few minutes to finish. Are you going to make the kachumber to go with? It sounds so appetizing. Just leave the cilantro out or use more mint/basil. Thanks for pointing to this recipe--it is on my to do list.

VERY interesting Sam1148 about the leaves perhaps being the only problem. So, SKK, taste a stem. The stem, and the cleaned roots, if you can find a store that sells them left on--like a Thai market--would be perfect for the paste.

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Sam1148 added over 2 years ago

It would be interesting to see if the folks at Food52 could find some cilantro haters and test this--maybe in a salsa. One with leaf, one with stems and another plan.
It was a happy accident for me, using only the stems in a Thai Green curry paste.
It's worked for us. He'll now purchase cilantro, and trim off the leaf to make Thai curries and salsa. I get the flavor and don't have to listen about "that nasty, filthy, soapy choke weed'.

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pauljoseph added over 2 years ago

Cook the cleaned and washed shrimp with little water and salt for 5 minute transfer it in to a steel container when it cool put the lid and refrigerate not in the freezer . you can Cary this shrimp for your biryani

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pauljoseph added over 2 years ago

If you dint like the cilantro don't use it but when you cook the Basmathi rice use few cinnamon leaf or bay leaf

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Looking at the recipe, I think it needs a bit of underlying herbal flavour. If you can get them, I think I'd substitute 6-10 whole curry leaves. You can find them at Indian shops, either fresh or frozen. Dried, they loose almost all of their flavour, though I do get freeze-dried here in South Africa and they're OK. Biryani is often served warm, so I wouldn't sweat it too much! If you do decide to cook the shrimp at the last minute, be sure to transport the shrimp separately from the ginger paste. If you leave uncooked shrimp in ginger for any length of time, they'll go mushy.

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BTW, am I the only one for whom this new "question about a recipe" feature does something weird to the fonts? I'm typing in about 72pt type and finding it kind of annoying...

seems to be true on all of the question about a recipe pickles I've seen.

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