Salmon is a popular fish in Europe and recommended by doctors as part of our diet. Today I bring you a quick, healthy biryani. One associates biryani as a real rich dish full of nuts and ghee, but it doesnt have to be that way. I made this dish on the spur of the momento and I was amazed at how delicious it was! The salmon can be substituted for any type of fish, prawns, chicken or even vegetables.

INGREDIENTS:

500 grams of salmon fillet, cut into cubes

150 grams of White natural yogurt

2″ piece of ginger, 6-8 cloves of garlic and a few Green chillies, 1 cup of coriander leaves

Blend the ginger, garlic, Green chillies, coriander leaves and yogurt into a paste. Add salt to taste . Marinate the salmon in this paste for about an hour.

Meanwhile, grind 2 onions with 1″ piece ginger, 4 cloves of garlic into a paste.

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a non stick skillet ( I used my ceramic pan) and fry the ground onion paste till well done (you will know its well done when it changes color and the oil separates from the paste. its very important that the paste is well cooked ). Then add 1 cup of tomato paste to this paste and mix well ( in spain we call this tomate frito). add some turmeric powder, chilli flakes and 2 tablespoons of home made garam masala to this. Cook till it nearly starts to stick and then add the marinated salmon with all the marinade. Check salt and correct. Cook covered till the salmon is cooked.

Meanwhile boil 3 cups of washed basmati rice with a few bay leaves and cloves till about 80% cooked. Drain and then layer the biryani. Take a thick bottomed pot and start with a layer of rice, followed by a layer of salmon with the sauce, repeat this step till all the salmon is used up and you have a layer of rice on the top. Sprinkle coriander leaves and some mint leaves and cook on slow heat covered till thoroughly heated through.

Serve  it with a salad if you wish. It was so delicous and flavourful we did not need anything with it.

NITU DIDI TIP : for a richer biryani you can add nuts, raisins, etc. Ghee can be added in abundance instead of oil to make the masala. This is a fantastic way to eat salmon or any kind of fish and makes an excellent party dish or a one dish dinner. You can also use left over boiled rice to make this. There are no rules to cooking this , it all depends on how busy you are.