Green peppercorn prawn
Peppercorns grow everywhere in Kerala, on India’s southwest coast, and they’re a core component of the state’s cuisine. Here, chef Sriram Aylur combines unripe green peppercorns with curry leaves (another emblematic ingredient from Kerala), ginger and coriander to create a thick, fresh paste that’s used to coat humongous king prawns. Wrapped in banana leaves and baked until they’re pink and plump, this is a speedy, simple dish that’s always going to impress.
Tip: No banana leaves? Baking paper will work well too – just tie it securely with string to ensure a complete seal.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 4 banana leaves, for wrapping (optional)
- Mixed salad leaves and micro herbs, simply dressed, to serve (optional)
PRAWNS
- 4 king prawns, extra large (ideally around 60-80g per prawn)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp of lime juice
PEPPERCORN PASTE
- 20 green peppercorns, crushed
- 50g of coriander leaves
- 25g of curry leaves
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 10g of ginger, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
Method
Remove the shell and tail from the body of each prawn, leaving the head intact. Remove the digestive tract (a thin black line that runs along the top of the body), then sprinkle over the salt, turmeric and lime juice. Toss to coat, then set aside for 30 minutes to marinate
- 4 king prawns, extra large (ideally around 60-80g per prawn)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp of lime juice
Preheat the oven to 200°C
Heat some vegetable oil in a large frying pan and, once hot, fry the curry leaves until crisp and fragrant, then remove to drain on kitchen paper
- 25g of curry leaves
Place the peppercorns, coriander leaves, fried curry leaves, lime juice, ginger and salt to a small food processor or spice grinder and blitz until smooth. Apply this paste onto the marinated prawns, leaving the head clear
- 20 green peppercorns, crushed
- 50g of coriander leaves
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 10g of ginger, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
Wrap each of the prawns’ tails in a banana leaf (trim the leaves down to size so they’re nice and neat), using string to ensure the entire tail is tightly covered
- 4 banana leaves, for wrapping (optional)
Bake the prawns for 7-8 minutes in the oven. Unwrap the banana leaves and serve
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