Kerala prawn curry

Name: Kerala prawn curry
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: 250g of prawns, raw, shelled and deveined; 1/2 tbsp of ground coriander; 1 pinch of turmeric powder; 1/4 tsp ground black pepper; 2 small shallots, English; 2 tbsp of oil; 1/4 tsp chilli powder; 1/2 tsp mustard seeds; 1 pinch of fenugreek seeds; 1 green chilli, slit; curry leaves, 4–5; 1 onion, chopped; 1/2 tsp ginger, grated; 6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced; 1/2 tsp tamarind paste, or gambooge if you can find it; 300ml of coconut milk; salt, to tatse

by Nisha Thomas

Item 1 of 1

Main
easy
2
60 minutes

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This comforting Kerala prawn curry recipe is a classic South Indian dish, with heady curry leaves, chilli, ground coriander and gambooge mingling mildly in the creamy coconut milk base. Gambooge can easily be replaced with tamarind paste if you can't track it down in the shops.

First published in 2016

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Chilly evenings call for wholesome curries like these which take less than 30 minutes to prepare, but are filling to your heart’s content.

This is a very authentic South Indian curry and some of the ingredients like gambooge for example, may not be familiar to all and for that matter easily available at local stores. It’s used as a souring agent and can be easily replaced with the much more common tamarind paste.

Fresh curry leaves do lend a fabulous taste to the dish, but since they are not widely available, omitting them is fine. Whatever you do, please don’t use the dried version, which don't do anything for the flavour.

My grandmother used to say this curry tastes even better the next day because all the spices, gravy and masalas would have caught on to the prawns really well. So if you can resist the urge to finish off the whole thing in one go, keep some aside for the next day and you’ll enjoy it even more.

Ingredients

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Keralan prawn curry

250g of prawns, raw, shelled and deveined
1/2 tbsp of ground coriander
1 pinch of turmeric powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 small shallots, English
2 tbsp of oil
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 pinch of fenugreek seeds
1 green chilli, slit
curry leaves, 4–5
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ginger, grated
6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
1/2 tsp tamarind paste, or gambooge if you can find it
300ml of coconut milk
salt, to tatse

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Method

Grind together the coriander, chilli, turmeric and pepper powders along with the English shallots to a coarse paste. Keep aside

Heat the oil in a wok, add the mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter

Add the fenugreek seeds followed by green chilli, curry leaves and onions. Sauté until the onions turn a light brown

Throw in the ginger and garlic and continue cooking until the raw smell disappears, say about 2–3 minutes

In goes the ground masala paste. Keep cooking on medium-low heat until the heady aroma of the paste rises. Be careful not to burn the mix, and if you feel it’s charring, then add a teaspoon or so of water and keep stirring at intervals

Stir in the tamarind paste and coconut milk. Season with salt and bring to a gentle boil

Finally, add the prawns, mix them into the gravy, top with a lid and cook on low heat for about 7–8 minutes, or until the prawns are well cooked. It’s very tricky with prawns, because if you over cook them, then they will become rubbery and very unpleasant

Once the gravy becomes thick, remove the curry from the heat and serve hot with some rice and a side of stir-fried vegetables

First published in 2016

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Nisha Thomas

Nisha is a freelance writer, avid food blogger and wannabe food photographer.

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