Prawn and Spinach Biryani

Serves 4
Preparation time 15 min
Cooking time 25 min

400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
15g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup (200g) basmati rice, rinsed
pinch of sugar
300g baby spinach leaves, roughly torn
250g peeled raw prawns

1. Drain the tomatoes in a sieve over a heatproof jug, then set aside. Bring a kettle of water to the boil.

2. Heat the oil in a large casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onion, chilli and ginger and stir for 3 minutes. Stir in the cumin, coriander, turmeric and nutmeg, and continue stirring until the onion is softened.

3. Add the rice and drained tomatoes to the casserole dish and stir the mix with the spices. Add enough boiling water to the reserved tomato juice to make up to 2 cups (500ml). Stir this into the rice with sugar and a pinch of salt, then bring to the boil.

4. Reduce the heat, cover tightly and leave the rice to cook for 10-12 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed, the rice grains are tender and tiny holes appear on the surface.

5. Stir in the spinach, as much as you can at a time, adding more as each addition wilts. When all the spinach has been added, lay the prawns on top, re-cover the casserole dish and turn down the heat to very low. Cook for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave to stand for 1 minute, without lifting the lid, by which time the spinach will have wilted further and the prawns have cooked thoroughly. Gently fork together to combine the rice, spinach and prawns. Serve immediately.