1. Soak rice in cold water for at least half an hour, drain water and keep aside. This helps the rice to expand and doesn't break while cooking.In the mean time , de-shell and de-vein the Prawns, I have kept the tails as it adds more flavor to the dish, you can discard if needed. Marinade the Prawns with a pinch of salt and a tbsp of lemon juice, keep aside.
2. For the chutney, add all the ingredients in the blender , make a coarse paste , need not to blend very fine. Use 3 large tablespoons of this chutney and keep the rest for later use, else adjust the amount of ingredients as need be. I prepared this chutney for morning breakfast, everybody loved it so much I thought of trying the same in this dish.
3. In the blender add half a cup of grated fresh coconut, 3 large tablespoons of the chutney, blend to a fine paste adding a little water.
4. Heat a tbsp of oil in the pan, add the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom, when you get a nice smell of the spices, add the masala to it and fry for 2 to 3 minutes by constant stirring. Add the Prawns, mix well with the spices and let cook for a minute or so .
5. Next, add the soaked rice with 2 and 1/2 cups of luke warm water and 1/2 cup of 100% fat free half n half/heavy coconut milk, add salt if required (since the chutney already have salt in it), gently stir the ingredients together .Once it comes to a boil, cover and cook for 7 to 8 minutes on medium-high heat . Note: Use twice the amount of water as the amount of rice. Since I added 1/2 cup of half n half , reduced the amount of water accordingly.
6. After 7 to 8 minutes of boiling on medium high heat, the amount of water will reduce to the above consistency. Next you need to keep the rice on "Dum" on the lowest heat settings for 22 to 25 minutes. Note: To keep the pan air tight , I have used a sheet of aluminium foil to cover and closed the lid on top of it.
7. Serve hot with Raita or any side dish of your choice. I have prepared Orange Raita to go along with it.

Recipe & image: Only Fish Recipes