Prawn Masala Recipe

I don’t care much for fish or even shelled fish like crab or lobster but I have a special place in my heart for prawns. They are one of my favourite ingredients and if they didn’t have so much cholesterol I’d honestly cook them every second day. Most of the time I end up tossing them into a curry, either Goan or Thai and that seems to work just fine but this time around I wanted to enjoy them without being drowned in a curry or gravy. I wanted a dry prawn dish full of flavour. This one reminds me of a South Indian or Sri Lankan sort of dish because of the kokum and curry leaves but I have no idea what to call it except Prawns Masala because this is really just a mix of flavours and ingredients I enjoy. It is the easiest recipe to make and took a grand total of 10 minutes to cook on the stove. Prepping ( cutting the ingredients ) took another 7 so yes it really is that easy. I ate this for Sunday lunch with some steaming white rice and delicious  daal ( lentils ) but you can eat this however you like. Happy Cooking!

Ingredients –

2 packets of 250 grams of cleaned deveined prawns. ( you can add more if you like )

1 large onion sliced

1 teaspoon of Mustard Seeds ( Rai )

1 Teaspoon of Coriander Powder

1 Teaspoon of Turmeric

1 Teaspoon of Chili Powder

12-15 Curry Leaves

1 or 2 Chopped or Slit Green Chilies ( I used one chopped chili )

5 Pods of Garlic either chopped or sliced ( I went with finely chopped )

2 or 3 pieces of Kokam

A pinch of salt to taste

1 Tablespoon of Sesame Oil

 

For the Marinade

1 Teaspoon of Turmeric

1 Teaspoon of Chili Powder

1 Teaspoon of Coriander Powder

Method –

Marinate the prawns with the three spices. I’ve said a teapsoon of each but you can add a little less than that as we are also adding that to the main dish. Some people don’t like to marinate their prawns so if you wish you can skip it entirely, I however like to so I’ve added the spices and let it sit for about half n hour.

In a pan, add the sesame oil and let it heat for a minute. Add the muster seeds and wait for them to splutter. Once they do, Add the sliced onions, green chilies and stir. Add the garlic and curry leave and mix well.

Add the spices and salt and mix it in. Just a pinch of salt or little less than a teaspoon as the prawns are salty enough. Once you have the onion mixture cooked add the prawns and mix well.

Cook the prawns for about 6 – 8 minutes, You will see them shrivel up as they cook and just before the finish cooking add in the bits of Kokam. Ideally you should soak the kokum in some water so they soften. Don’t add any water as the prawns release their own and we want it to be a dry dish. If you like a bit of gravy then of course by all means you can add a little water.

Once it’s cooked serve hot with rice and daal or on its own and enjoy.

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