Prawn Masala

You know you are a typical south Indian when you can’t resist sea food and you cook with coconut oil. Anything with prawns, yes I can eat it. I have tried out the different ways you can cook prawns. Here’s one among them.

Ingredients:

Prawns – 500 gms

Onion – 1 chopped finely

Tomato – 3 (grinded to a fine paste)

Ginger garlic paste – 1 ½ tsp

Water – ¾ cup

Dry methi leaves – 2 tsp

Yoghurt – ¼ cup

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

Salt – to taste

To roast and grind:

Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – ¾ tsp

Rice grains – 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds – 1 ½ tbsp

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Chili powder – 1 tsp

Oil – 1 tsp

Method:

Wash prawns and marinate it with salt, turmeric and chili powder. Cover and refrigerate for 30mins.

Now for the roasting and grinding part; in a pan add the oil and all the other ingredients under ‘to roast and grind’ except chili powder. Roast them until they release a nice aroma. Turn off the heat and add the chili powder. Allow the mixture to cool down and grind them finely.

In the same pan, add 3 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds. Once they start popping, add onion and curry leaves. Fry until onion turns translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off. 

Add tomato puree and cook till oil separates from the gravy. Now add the prawns, ground masala powder, salt, turmeric and water. Adjust salt and spiciness according to your taste. Add crushed methi and yogurt. Once the gravy starts boiling, cover the pan and simmer until prawns are done.