Fish Biryani

Being Indian, I've always been a huge fan of rice dishes--biryani, to be more specific. I've tasted lamb biryani, goat biryani, chicken biryani, vegetable biryani, shrimp biryani, Mughlai Biryani, and probably more that I can't recall at the moment. But I was always curious about fish biryani because I am a HUGE fan of fish. I was looking through my endless spices/masala cabinet a few weeks ago and came across a box of Shan Fish Biryani mix and thought, "why not?!" As it turns out, fish biryani is now one of my favorite kinds of biryani. Hence, the reason why I have decided to share this recipe with all of you. Bon appetit! :)

Ingredients:

-5 or 6 pre-cut and cleaned fillets of your favorite fish (I prefer tilapia with this dish)
-4 cups of basmati rice
-2 or 3 medium onions, finely sliced (most ethnic food stores also sell bags of pre-sliced and fried onions. It is a very inexpensive way to save you tons of time and keep your house from stinking up and one bag goes a long way! Use about 1 and 1/2 cups of fried onions)
-2 cups all natural plain yogurt
-3 tablespoons ginger/garlic paste
-2 heaping tablespoons sour cream
-5 or 6 small green chillies (only if you like some extra spice)
-5 tablespoons lemon juice
-1/2 to 3/4 cup vegetable oil
-2 tablespoons ghee ( also known as clarified butter)
-Shan Fish Biryani mix (The more of the powder you use, the spicier it will be.)
-A good handful of fresh cilantro, finely chopped.

*Begin by mixing lemon juice, Shan Fish Biryani mix (if you don't want it too spicy, only use about half or so of the packet), sour cream, ginger/garlic paste, and chopped cilantro in a bowl. Apply the mixture to the fish. Cover and set aside to marinate for half an hour.
*Slice all of onions.
*Next, heat vegetable oil and ghee in a skillet and fry onions for a few minutes until golden brown.
*Then add marinated fish and green chillies and fry until the oil separates from the masala (or sauce).
*Add 2 cups of yogurt and mix in well.
*Fry mixture until fish is firm, but not overcooked.

*At this time, preheat your oven to 375°

*In a pot, bring to boil 10 to 12 cups of water and add 2 tablespoons of salt.
*In a separate pot or bowl, wash (or rinse) rice thoroughly 3 times to remove any excess starch or debris.
*Add rice to boiling water and let cook until rice is 3/4 of the way done. (You can test this by taking a grain of rice from the pot and splitting it with your fingers. If it easily breaks into two without much effort, then it is done.)
* Drain rice and spread it evenly in a 18" x 18" aluminum foil tray (or one about that size).
*Then spread fish and masala evenly over rice.
*Cover tightly with foil and place it on the lowest rack in your oven for 45 minutes.
*Be careful when taking foil off of the tray because it will be VERY hot!

Enjoy!