Fish Biryani
Fish is probably my favourite protein and this Fish Biryani recipe is one of a kind. It is easy to make, extremely flavourful and even those who do normally enjoy fish will LOVE this meal and request second helpings! I normally make this whenever my husband goes fishing and brings home a large catch, as a little celebratory meal!Â
Ingredients
Ingredients for Fish Masala
- 500 gm fish fillet of your choice cut into pieces (marinate this in a paste of 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp salt, quarter tsp turmeric powder, quarter tsp garlic paste, quarter tsp cumin powder and juice of a lemon)
- 4-5 onions sliced finely and fried until golden
- 3 tomatoes chopped
- 2-3 tbsp tomato paste/puree
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 cup yoghurt fresh and well whipped
- 1 tbsp mint leaves chopped (optional)
- 2-3 tbsp coriander leaves chopped
- 1 green chilli chopped
- salt to taste
- juice of half a lemon
- oil as needed
Ingredients for Rice
- 3 cups basmati rice washed 2-3 times then soaked for half an hour
- salt
- saffron & food colouring
- oil
- whole spices
Instructions
- First, fry the marinated fish for just 2-3 mins on each side. Just enough to help it hold its shape in the biryani so that it doesn’t fall apart whilst cooking. Remember that it will get cooked further in the masala later.Heat a pan and add quarter cup of oil in it, then fry your sliced onions until golden. Remove half of them from the pan and set aside, leave the other half in the pan.Add the chopped tomatoes and stir-fry on medium to low heat until well softened. You can even cover this for a while so it keeps cooking until the tomatoes are very soft. Add ginger and garlic, followed by the tomato paste/puree and cook for a few minutes. Then add the whisked yoghurt and stir together, keep cooking this on low heat until the yoghurt is well blended into the mixture and some oil starts coming out from the sides. Now add the powdered spices and green chilli, some coriander and the fish. Cook in the masala for about 15 minutes on low heat, you can add a bit of water (less than half a cup) if you find it too dry. Lastly, squeeze in the lemon juice.Next prepare the RiceSoak a few saffron strands in some water and set aside.Bring a big pot of water to boil, add salt, 4 cardamom pods, 2-3 cinnamon sticks and 2-3 cloves plus about 2 tbsp. of oil.Drain the soaked rice and add it to this water when it is boiling. Cook until the rice is about 3/4 done, remove and strain out all the water. Put half the rice back into the pan, add the fish masala, followed by the fried onions set aside from before, the rest of the chopped coriander and the mint leaves, then cover with the rest of the rice so that the fish masala is sandwiched between the rice layers.Drizzle 2 tbsp. of oil, the soaked saffron water and some orange/yellow colour on the rice. Seal the pot and put on dum/steam it on the stove….or bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Serve!!
any new updates on how to cook native and sweet meals in kenya
Please check the international folder.
ASSALAMUALAIKUM I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS THE BEST FISH TO BUY TO MAKE FISH BURIYANI. THANKX
W/Salaam, salmon, red snapper, king fish all are good.
jazakallah khair. your recipes are awsome thank you so much its a great help.
Salamualaykum sister fauzia, first time ever in my life, I attempted
Fish biryani because I thought it was too hard to make but
ALHAMDULLILAH it turned out soo well my husband and kids
Absaloutly LOVED it so a very BIG Thank you for
Sharing this recipe
Fish biryani i tried mashaallah my family was happy may allah bless you Fauziya.
i want recipes in gujarati or hindi language plz
Sorry I speak neither gujrati nor hindi.
salam fauzia thank you for the recipes,i want racipes in swahili please:)
W/Salaam, sorry at the moment all the recipes are in English only.
Jazakallah for all ur recipes I tried some of them and they all turned out really well Alhamdulillah. How about sea bass for this recipe?
Thank you Raheema, yes sea bass is fine for this recipe. 🙂
I tried ur fish biryani today it turned out delicious I love ur recipes thank u so much <3
Hi,
At what temperature should I bake the Biriyani? Can I layer the fish at the bottom instead of the middle so that the rice doesn’t burn ?
Hi, preheat the oven to 180 C and bake for just 10 mins. There should be no risk of the rice burning in that short a time, but yes you can layer the fish at the bottom if you prefer. 🙂
It sounds good.. I have never made fish biryani before ill make it soon now…
aslm
i wanted to ask you apart from fish fillet can i use pieces of fish that that are cut from a whole fish
W/Salaam, yes you can do that.
aslm
plz when you put the pot on stove ,we should the food to cook for 10 mins that is the number of minutes as bake in the oven . both are the same ?
W/Salaam, yes same…make sure the oven is preheated before putting the pot inside it.
Plz lemme know how to make tomato paste?
I buy it ready made from the supermarket dear, maybe you know it as tomato puree?
I would like to make the fish
I would like to make the fish biryani for 13 15 le. How many Kgs of fish diced and how many Kgs of rice?
Well this recipe serves 4-5
Well this recipe serves 4-5 people (used half kilo of boneless fish). So you will need to multiply ALL the ingredients by 3 in order to serve that many people.
Hi, may I know the exact
Hi, may I know the exact measurements for the ingredients you used to marinate the fish fillet?
Many thanks!
Half a tsp of each ingredient
Half a tsp of each ingredient. 🙂
My wife tried this today,
My wife tried this today, came out well MaShaa Allah….but a small prob….the masala smell is strong…how to avoid it?
Thanks for the lovely
Thanks for the lovely feedback. Not sure about the masala smell, could it be that the fish itself that was used had a strong smell?
made it yesterday was soo
made it yesterday was soo good!!!!!!!
salams fauzia what shall
salams fauzia what shall serve with fish biryani any side dises or any chutneys?jazakallah.
W/Salaam, kachumbar and green
W/Salaam, kachumbar and green chutney will work. Recipes in the salad folder and the pickles/dips folder
Hi witch basmati rice you
Hi witch basmati rice you using ur biriyani,s?
Hi, every country has
Hi, every country has different brands, where are you from?
Hi im from srilnka indian
Hi im from srilnka indian basmati rice r available hear like indiagate Daawat
Hi, both those are good
Hi, both those are good brands that are known internationally so whichever one from the two will work.
Salaams sister.l tried this.
Salaams sister.l tried this. In a hurry because I had to go out. I had to layer the rice in my rice cooker. Instead of a pot on the stove. I didn’t have yoghurt so substituted coconut milk! The smell was incredible. The taste was the best I have ever cooked! The rice was cooked perfectly moist enough to be eaten just as it is without any accompaniments. . Everyone loved it! Lot more confident. Thank you so much for your recipes.
Assalamu alaikum sister
Assalamu alaikum sister
How long should I marinate the fish????
If possible overnight,
If possible overnight, otherwise even half an hour is enough.
I tried it today. Masha Allah
I tried it today. Masha Allah, it came out very well & every1 loved it… <3
How can I make fish biryani
How can I make fish biryani without yogurt as combining dairy with fish is not good for health
I have been combining fish
I have been combining fish and dairy all my life and alhmd have never had any effect. I think this is a myth or old wives tale that has just been passed on and on to our generation. Am not sure how the results would be without the yoghurt but you are welcome to try. 🙂
Salaams Fauzia
Salaams Fauzia
I hope the fasting is going well. I would like to try this recipe. What is the best rice to use available in the Kenyan market. The rice in the picture is long and fluffy. Mashallah. thanks. Regards. Gulshan
W/Salaam, thank you. I use
W/Salaam, thank you. I use Sunrice, the orange pack. 🙂
Hi Fauzia your recipes are
Hi Fauzia your recipes are fantastic, I would like to try this recipe for my sons 8th birthday, can I make the fish masala the day before, will it still be ok ? On the day I will boil the rice and add the fish masala as you have mentioned above. I want to use cod fish is this okay?
Hi, thanks Yasmin. Yes that
Hi, thanks Yasmin. Yes that is totally ok.
I made this Fish Biryani for
I made this Fish Biryani for my parents tonight. It turned out absolutely amazing. I topped the biryani with oven roasted potatoes. Thanks so much for a fantastic recipe 🙂 Keeping it in the permanent collection, will definitely make it again!
Asalam alaikum fauzia, all I
Asalam alaikum fauzia, all I can say os I love YOU. Masha allah. Your website is every young brides dream I have tried out over 6 of your recipes and I have never been disappointed. I have just registered.
I want to make this tonight but I don’t have saffron, is it ok?
Thank u and once again I am very greatful.
W/Salaam, thank you! Yes that
W/Salaam, thank you! Yes that’s totally fine, you can omit the saffron.
I made this last night and it
I made this last night and it was fantastic! An instant favorite. Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve made this previously –
I’ve made this previously – family loved it and have re-requested it! I didn’t colour the rice – how much food colouring do i need to add to the rice? Thanks
Thank you! About a quarter
Thank you! About a quarter tsp mixed in about 2 tbsp of water then sprinkled over the rice.
Hi Fauzia,
Hi Fauzia,
Love your recipes. I wanted to request you to make more vegetarian dishes in rice and otherwise. Also, more fish recipes like your fish masala, which is a fav at my house now. Thank you so much!
Hena
my husband loved this fish
my husband loved this fish biryani made it twice thought of sharing..thanks for this lovely recipe..
Made fish biriyani with this
Made fish biriyani with this recipe. It came out really tasty. A must try for anyone who wants to make awesome fish biriyani at home. Sprinkled some kewra water and rose water in the end with little butter and it was delish. ..restaurant style!!!!!! Thanks alot!!
Thank you again fauzia, your a life saver , since I’m living in Austria I miss home food on Ramadhan , and your recipe are just very good I made mine came out very yummy , I cook evry day one thing from your recipee🥰😋god bless you
Does 3 cups of rice mean 750ml of rice??