Fish Briani

Today, I made fish briani..Malay says, 'tukar selera' (having a different taste bud)..

Its either chicken or mutton briani thats what we normally cooked or eat..hahaha..yesterday just had chicken, so today tried this fish briani pulaklah kan...

Got this recipe from one of my very first cooking books that I bought last time..it really tells you step by step on how to cook briani...almaklumlah I only start to be a bit serious in cooking when I quit my job...as when I was working, there was really no time for me to cook cause by the time I reached home it was already 9pm the earliest so if were to wait for me to finish cooking it would be around 10 or 11 then we can have dinner right!.....luckily my parents stayed with us, so my mum who was the nanny for my kids, will cook and I only know how to 'wallop' when I reached home..and on weekends, we normally will eat out...
so bila lah masa nak belajar masak kan..reasons aje kot?...wakakaka...

Ingredients:-
600g sea bream(ikan kerisi) or thread fin (ikan kurau) cut into large pieces - I used Spanish mackerel(ikan tenggeri)

Mix together then rub into fish:-
1 tbsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp water
shallow fry marinated fish till cooked but not crispy.

Grind to a paste:-
8 green chillies
4 garlics
1 pc ginger size of small walnut
1 big onion

Add to paste:-
1 tsp cumin(jintan putih)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 small bunch chopped coriander leaves
2 sprig mint leaves(discard stalk)

Ingredients for frying:-
1 big onion sliced thinly
3 cardamons (buah pelaga)
4 cloves(bunga cengkeh)
1 stick Cinnamon (kayu manis)

2 heaped tbsp ghee
2 tomatoes sliced
1/2 cup water
2 tsp salt
*10 cashew nuts
*10 almonds-soak and blanch
(grind to paste*)

Method:-
Heat ghee, add ingredients for frying. When onions are brown, add ground ingredients.When fragrant, add tomatoes, fry, add water, stir, add almond cashew paste, stir add salt. When boiling, add fish and simmer to allow fish to absorb mixture. When mixture is thick, turn off heat.

Ingredients for Rice:-
600g basmati rice- clean, wash then drain
9 cups water
2 tsp salt
2 cardamons
3 cloves
1 small stick cinnamon
2 pandan leaves(optional)
1 tsp rose water

Method:-
In a pot, combine all the above ingredients(except rose water) and bring to boil. When boiling, add rice and rose water. When rice begins to expand, pour away water and strain rice. Spoon a layer of rice in pot. Alternate with a layer of cooked fish and spice mixture, making it a total of three layers of rice and two layers offish finishing with rice layer on top. Sprinkle 1 tbsp yellow colouring and coriander leaves over top rice layer. Push knife through a few spots to let steam escape then cook rice over low heat.
Garnishing:-
1 small bunch coriander leaves-chop
2 sprigs mint leaves-chop
Sources:-From Zarina's Home Cooking Book