Clean, devein the shrimp. Wash well, pat dry and apply about 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well and let it marinate for 10 minutes.

Heat water in a pot, add lemon juice, once it comes to a boil, add salt and the washed and drained rice. Cook the rice till it is about 70% cooked. It should break easily when you press between your fingers and still retain it's shape. If it mashes easily, it's overcooked and that will not result in a good biryani. So keep a close check. Drain in a colander and let it cool. You will notice the grains have separated nicely from each other.

Gather all the ingredients mentioned under To be ground to a smooth paste, grind using little water at a time for easy and even grinding. It's better to pulse only the cilantro first, then add all the remaining ingredients. Doing it this way will ensure you have a smooth ground paste. I used about 1/4 cup water. This will yield about 3/4th cup ground paste.

Heat  ghee/oil in a heavy and deep bottomed pot. Add the onions and tomatoes, sauté on medium heat until the onions are translucent and tomatoes turn mushy.

Add the ground masala paste, sauté until it leaves fat from the sides.

Rinse the grinder with 1/2 cup of water, extract the remaining masala, and add to the pot, add another 1/2 cup of water. Bring this to a boil.

Add the washed shrimps, mix well in the masala.

Let them cook for another 5 minutes. Once the oil floats on top of the gravy, it's ready. Check for seasoning and adjust if required.

Take it off the heat. Add the par cooked rice over the masala.

Add ghee over the rice, sprinkle chopped cilantro leaves, saffron infused milk, orange/red color & birista all over the rice layer.

Cover with an aluminum foil, and then with the lid. Switch on the heat to medium-high, place the pot directly over heat, let it cook for about 5 minutes. Then transfer the pot to an iron tawa/skillet, let it cook on medium-low heat for another 15 minutes. Switch off the heat and let it stand for another 15 minutes. If you are not using a heavy lid to cover the pot, remember to place some weight on it, to prevent the steam from escaping. Or seal the edges of the pot with some wheat dough, as it is done traditionally. Serve hot with onion-tomato raita or any other raita of your choice.