Make My Day Camp: Sheet Pan Curried Shrimp Biryani

I haven't had very many Indian dishes but what I've tried I've liked...although "curry" always scares me and I think I'm not going to like it - but then I'm surprised how much I actually do enjoy it! I haven't made an Indian recipe before, so when Ron and Janis were coming over for dinner the other night (we played Jokers - girls rule, boys drool 😝) and I was looking for something super easy that didn't require me fussing a lot, I found this recipe for curried shrimp Biryani that looked and sounded delicious and (even better) the level is "easy". I figured what the heck, what can go wrong, I'm making it. Fortunately this turned out SO GOOD and my experimenting on poor unsuspecting guests didn't go awry hahaha!! Ron did question why I'd attempt making a meal I know nothing about before doing a trial run on just Dave, little does he know every meal I make is an experiment! It's just food, I don't get too worked up or nervous about it - it is what it is and all that...and worse case scenario is the food tastes bad and we order a pizza (or go home and eat a sandwich!).

Because I've never had Biryani before I followed the recipe exactly - wait, that's not true, I increased the shrimp to 2 pounds and the butter by another tablespoon, and I only used 1 shallot because onion doesn't agree with Dave. Rice and spice amounts stayed the same. The recipe says it'll take 16-18 minutes to bake in the oven for the shrimp to get done, but it took me quite a bit longer - more like 25 minutes. Maybe I put the rice layer on too thick or something.

Janis brought a cauliflower side dish and fresh flavored Naan bread (it's a flat bread, sort of reminds me of pita), along with a yogurt sauce to either spread on the Biryani or dip the Naan bread in. Yum, this was a great meal! I hope you'll try it - I promise the flavor is mild, not spicy or hot; it is quite easy and quick to pull together; and your guests will be pleasantly surprised that you pulled off Indian food (unless you always make Indian food, in which they may not be surprised but they will be happy).

Ingredients:

3 large shallots, halve3d and thickly sliced
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
salt
1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon paprika
4 8.8 ounce packages microwavable basmati rice (or 7 cups cooked rice)
1 cup fresh cilantro and/or mint, roughly chopped
yogurt and chopped toasted cashews, for serving

Directions:

Put a rimmed baking sheet in the upper third of the oven; preheat to 475 degrees F. Add the shallots, drizzle with 1 tablespoon melted butter and season with salt; spread in a single layer. Roast until softened and starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. (note: watch these carefully, mine were really done in 5 minutes)
Meanwhile, butterfly the shrimp: Peel the shrimp; make a deep cut down the center of the shrimp's back from head to tail without cutting all the way through. Remove the vein with the tip of the knife. Open the shrimp along the cut so it lies flat. Transfer to a large bowl.
Combine the remaining 5 tablespoons melted butter, the ginger, garlic, curry powder and garam masala in a separate large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the spice butter to the shrimp; add the paprika, season with salt and toss. Add the rice, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup herbs to the remaining spice butter; toss.
Add the shrimp to the baking sheet with the shallots and spread in a single layer. Top with the rice mixture in an even layer and drizzle with 1/4 cup water. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake until the rice is hot and the shrimp are cooked through, 16 to 18 minutes.
Stir the shrimp and rice together with a fork. Season with salt and stir in the remaining 1/2 cup herbs. Top each serving with yogurt and cashews.

Makes 4 servings. Click here for original source, they have a short video if you want more instructions.

I forgot to take a picture of this layered on the sheet pan. I used a standard baking sheet pan with short sides - the cleaned shrimp are layered on top of the roasted shallots, then put the rice on top of the shrimp. Once the shrimp are cooked through, transfer to a bowl and mix together. Make sure you cover the pan tightly, otherwise I think the rice will dry out.

Side note before I go - in case you haven't worked with fresh ginger before: (1) you don't have to buy the whole big hunk of ginger at the store, just break off the amount you want (I'm pretty sure this is acceptable haha, I always do it otherwise you have waaaaay more ginger than you're going to need and no one has ever questioned me!). (2) peel the brown outer skin off with a small paring knife or a vegetable peeler. I use a veggie peeler but if you have a really knobby piece you might need to use a knife. (3) either thinly slice it, mince, chop, or grate it - I used my micro-planer because my grater is an evil tool and cuts me every time I use it.