Fiery Prawn Curry Recipe
Medium-sized shrimp/prawns in a spicy masala curry
Ingredients
- 1 Medium-sized onion
- 1 tsp Ginger & garlic paste or finely chopped
- 1 tsp Indian 5 spice (Paanch Phoron)
- 1 lb Frozen shrimp/prawns preferably peeled and deveined
- 4 oz Tomato sauce or 2 small finely chopped tomatoes
- 1 Indian green chilly optional
- 2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 2 tsp Red Chilly powder
- ¼ tsp Cumin powder
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- 1½ cups Water
- 2 tbsp Sunflower oil
- *Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp Fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Defrost the prawns/shrimp at least two-three hours before you plan on cooking (the night before is ideal). If your prawns are fresh, then peel and devein them if they haven't been already.
- Once the prawns have fully thawed, peel if necessary. (Most frozen prawns have already been deveined) Wash and set aside.
- Next finely chop the onion, either by hand or in a chopper and do the same with the ginger and garlic if you don't have paste on hand.
- Slit one green chilly down the middle.
- Heat up the sunflower oil in a shallow saucepan on medium/high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the Paanch Phoron* and green chilly. Stir for about 30 seconds.
- Then add in the chopped onions and fry until lightly golden-browned (This will take around 5 mins)
- Add the ginger and garlic and fry for an extra 1 minute to avoid burning the garlic. (It cooks quickly)
- Pour in the tomato sauce (or chopped tomatoes) and stir for 2-3 minutes on medium/high
- Turn the heat to low and incorporate the spices (red chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder a pinch of salt to taste)
- Switch the heat back to high and fry off the spices for another 2 minutes.
- It's time to add the prawns so carefully place them in the pan and stir to make sure each prawn is coated with the dry masala mixture.
- At this point lower the heat and cover the pan with a lid. The prawns may render out fluid which will affect the amount of water you need to add to really make it curry instead of a dry dish.
- After 2-3 minutes, remove the lid and stir. Add water as necessary and cook until the gravy thickens. You want a consistency that is not too thick but also not too watery.
- Once the prawns are cooked, turn off the heat and sprinkle over some fresh cilantro .
- Serve over white Basmati rice and enjoy!