Serves 2 / Difficulty – Medium / Prep 30 minutes and cooking 20 minutes.
This is my wife’s favourite curry. And I must admit as soon as I have the ghee, mustard seeds and curry leaves cooking the smell is heavenly.
I buy the biggest tiger prawns I can find (uncooked and in the shell), luckily I have a local Indian stockist who the biggest and juiciest prawns that competes with any restaurant. I pull off the head and tail, remove the shell and legs then cut down the back and remove the vein, takes a while but so worth it.
I find if I am missing some of the fresh ingredients such as fresh chillies, the tomatoes or the shallots this curry recipe is very forgiving.
Ingredients
400ml Coconut milk
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
3 tablespoons of ghee (or oil if you prefer)
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
16 curry leaves
1 large onions, chopped in a blender
1 heaping teaspoon grated ginger
3 cloves garlic
2 green chilli and 2 red chilli, cut in half lengthwise. Deseed if you don’t like your curry too spicy
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon cumin powder
2 chopped tomatoes
Salt to taste
300g large uncooked tiger prawns
300g shrimps (not essential but makes a more meaty dish)
2 shallots, peeled and sliced
Handful of chopped coriander
Method
- In a wok or high sided frying pan, heat the ghee and add the mustard seeds, When they start to pop I suggest you cover them for a while as they can pop into your face if you are not careful.
- Add the curry leaves, and after a few seconds when they release their aroma add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes.
- Add the ginger, garlic, and green chillies. After 2 minutes, add the red chillies, turmeric, coriander, and cumin powders. Add 2 tablespoons of water and let the spice powders cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring so that they do not stick to the pan, careful they don’t burn.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, around 150ml of water, and tamarind paste. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the coconut milk and salt and stir.
- Taste for seasoning. Add the prawns and cook over low heat until done. Should be about 3-5 minutes.
- Just before serving add the sliced shallots, wait for 30 seconds, then add the chopped coriander.
Serve on a bed of basmati rice.
