Do you remember stories of Sindbad The Sailor or The Merchant and the genie ? Well I am certainly not testing your memory,rather I want you to go back down the memory lane when we used to gaze at bright stars and clear sky in a hope that a carpet may fly down and a genie may appear. Days when our parents and grand parents told stories about prince,princess and fairies from land far and wide.I am talking about those lovely childhood days. I still remember,in school we used to have library class twice a week and our class monitor was in charge of distributing the books,we literally did our best to bribe her to get our favorite series to read. Fascinating stories and characters always sweep us to a different world, far from reality a world of fiction, imagination and dreams.

Story telling is an art which I think is one of life's most powerful and envied skills.The oral story telling is as old as language itself,throughout history stories have primarily existed in the verbal realm,preserving and passing knowledge across generations. A story well told can make us laugh,weep,swell with pride or rise with indignation. There may not be any better example in the world then how art, trickery,magic and craft can swirl together and forms a world that every reader and listener want to enter. Well,I am talking about stories from Arabian Nights,where the character Scheherezade tells each of the Arabian Nights tales,in order to survive a little longer at the mercy of her listener,The Sultan.These stories are some of world great treasures.They have existed for thousand of years,consisting stories from Persia,Arabia,India and Asia. Now this remind me of another great story teller called Molla Naserddin,a satirical wise man who lived during the middle ages in Iran and his stories are treasured by all over the world. His stories are generally humorous,but in subtle humor there is always a lesson to be learned.

Coming back to my recipe of spicy prawn rice,is a dish from Khuzestani Cuisine. Khuzesthan is a province in south-west of Iran.Seafood is the most important part of Khuzesthani cuisine. Now unlike Iranian cuisine which is neither too hot or spicy,Khuzestani cuisine are both hot and heavily spiced.In this dish the marinated prawns are cooked together with the rice in a pot and served with an yogurt dip.

• Wash the prawns in cold water and soak them for 20 mints in water and add 1/2 tbs of lemon juice,drain and keep aside.
• Wash the rice throughly in cold water and soak for 2 hours. Drain and keep aside.
• In a bowl marinate the prawns with garlic,ginger,red pepper,turmeric,cardamom,fenugreek and salt for an hour.
• In a pot bring 4 cups of water to boil,add the rice and cook till the rice is firm in the center.Strain and rinse with cold water.
• In another non stick pot heat oil and spread the rice,layer it with the marinated prawns,make small holes in rice to let the steam out.Cook for ten mints on medium heat.When the rice starts steaming pour a cup of water,melted butter and saffron,lower the heat and cook for another 50 mints.
• Serve hot with any yogurt dip or pickles.