Prawn & vegetable pulao

I'm in the UK at the moment and made this prawn or shrimp pulao for dinner along with some raita. Very easy to do - just make a basic pulao recipe and then add some fried prawns which have been marinating in some turmeric, garam masala and chopped garlic! This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients

250g prawns (already cooked, saves time with deveining and cleaning!)

1 cup basmati rice, soaked for 30 mins

1 medium onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 green chilli, finely chopped

Thumb size piece ginger, crushed

2 carrots, diced

10 french beans, diced

Handful frozen peas

Vegetable oil

Salt to taste

You'll need these spices

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp garam masala (one for the prawns and one for the rice & vegetables)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

4-5 cloves

Method

Add the prawns to a large bowl and add the garlic, turmeric and 1tsp of the garam masala. Leave to marinate whilst you cook the basmati rice and vegetables.
Rinse the soaked basmati rice well to remove any excess starch. You want to keep the rice fluffy, and excess starch will mean that it could go sticky.
Cook the basmati rice according to your preferred method. Once cooked, strain and spread evenly on a plate or baking tray and let cool.
In the meantime, cook the beans and carrots until tender in a large saucepan. Drain and set aside.
In the same large saucepan on medium heat, add a good splash of vegetable oil.
Add the cloves, coriander and cumin seeds and fry until fragrant.
Next, add the onions. Fry until translucent and then add the green chilli and crushed ginger.
Tip in the cooked vegetables along with the frozen peas. Saute for a few minutes and then add the remaining 1 tsp of garam masala.
Add the cooked rice and add salt to taste. Turn the heat on low to keep warm.
In a small non-stick frying pan on high heat, add a splash vegetable oil. Add the prawns in a single layer. Fry for no more than 5 minutes.
Mix the prawns in with the basic pulao.
Serve with raita! See below for two recipes.