Prawns in Coconut Milk

This is a super tasty side dish with rice. It has so much of nostalgia associated with it as it is another one of my mom's favourite prawn recipes. The gravy is just enough to eat a plateful of rice in the wink of an eye. Try this super yummy, easy recipe today.

Ingredients

2 onions, sliced
Thumb-size piece ginger, grated
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp sunflower oil
½ tsp turmeric
1 Cup Coconut Milk
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 chopped tomato
1 green chilli
500g large, raw, peeled prawn
Juice of 1 lemon

Method

Fry the onions, ginger and garlic in the oil for about 10 mins. Stir in the turmeric and coriander, then fry for 1 min more. Tip the mixture into a blender with the tomatoes and creamed coconut, then blend to a puree.
Return to the pan with 300ml water, chilli and pepper and simmer for 10 mins.
Stir in the prawns and cook for a few mins more until they turn pink Take care not to overcook them or they’ll become tough. Now add Coconut milk and stir for just a minute. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice just before serving.

Prawn Tomato Masala

This is how my mom makes a prawn masala. It is very tasty and not very difficult to make. The more the number of tomatoes used, the more tasty it will be. I love it with chappathi and roti. I've made it many times before but it was only yesterday that I remembered to take the photos. Hence adding the recipe now. Enjoy.

Ingredients

Oil - 3 tblspn
Prawn / Shrimp - 250 grams cleaned
Cinnamon- 1 small stick
Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp
Cardamom  - 2
Onion - 1 large chopped finely
Green Chilli -1 slit
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder  - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Tomato - 2 medium chopped finely Salt to taste
Water - 1/2 cup

For Marination

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Take cleaned prawn in a bowl, add all the marination ingredients in it and mix well. Let it sit for 10 mins.
Now heat oil in a kadai. Add the marinated prawns and toss well in the oil. Let it cook for 5 to 7 mins till it is cooked, turns pink and curls. Remove the prawns alone in a bowl leaving any of the juices in the kadai.
Now let the juice bubble up and reduce for a couple of mins. Now add in cinnamon, fennel seeds and cook for a min.
Add in onions, curry leaves and green chilli. Saute for 5 mins or so.
Now add in ginger garlic paste and mix well for a min.
Add in salt and all spice powders and mix well for a min.

Add in tomatoes and mix well. Cook covered for 5 mins or so on a low heat till it turns mushy.
Now increase the heat and add some water and mix well.Cook this for a min.
Add the cooked prawns and mix well. Cook for 5 mins or so.
Serve with rice or roti.

Prawn Batter Fry

This is a tasty prawn batter fry recipe. I was thinking of a variety prawn fry recipe and was browsing through the net when I came across this one and immediately decided to try it out. It came out perfectly well and everyone loved it, especially my little boy who usually hates prawns.

Ingredients

Prawns - 200 grams
All purpose flour - 2 spoons
Corn flour - 2 spoons
Rice flour - 1/2 spoon
Red chilli powder - 1 spoon
Chat masala - 1/2 spoon
Garam masala - 1/4 spoon
Pepper powder - 1/2 spoon
Lemon juice - 1 spoon (For washing the prawns)
Salt - As per taste
Oil - For deep frying
Toothpicks

Preparation

Shell and de-vein prawns and wash well in water. Apply some lemon juice and salt and set aside for a few minutes and wash it well again.
Take a bowl and all the above said ingredients, except prawns and lemon juice and add some water and make a batter out of it. The batter should not be too runny nor too thick.
Take the prawn pieces and pat dry them using a kitchen towel or tissue paper. (If the prawns are wet the batter wont stick to the prawns well)
Insert tooth picks into the prawns through one end and set aside. Do this with the rest of the prawns.
Place a pan on flame and pour oil into it. Let it heat up well on low flame.
Now dip them in the prepared batter by holding the stick and drop off the excess batter by holding it for a while. (If you don't remove excess batter the layer will come off from the prawns while frying)
Then gently drop them into the pre-heated oil.
Gently turn sides and fry on medium flame for just 3 minutes or until the batter turns brownish and crispy.
Remove from flame and place on a tissue paper to absorb excess oil. Serve!!

Prawn Fry

This is the tastiest of all prawn recipes. It is very easy to make and can be done in very less time. When you are in a hurry to make some non -vegetarian side dish, this can be the one you can count on. This is a purely south Indian version of a prawn fry.

Ingredients

Prawns - 10
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1tsp
Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
Oil - 1tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - chopped
Oil - for frying
Salt

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients, except prawns and oil, and make a paste. Marinate the prawns with this paste and keep aside for half an hour. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry it with a few curry leaves for 5-7 minutes. If you fry it for long, the prawns will become hard. Serve hot.

Prawns Biryani

Ingredients

For the rice:
Basmati rice - 3 cups
Water - 6 cups
Cardamom & clove - 6 each
Cinnamon - 1 medium size stick
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Lemon Juice - 3-4tbsp
Salt

For the masala
Prawns - ½ kg
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Chilli powder - ½ tbsp
Pepper powder - ½ tsp
Onions - 3, chopped finely
Green chilli -5-6
Tomato - 2-3, chopped finely
Coconut - 1 handful
Coriander leaves - 1 handful
Curd - ½ cup
Cashews - 6-8 (soaked in 2 tbsp water),
Garam masala - 1 tsp

For garnishing
Cashews & raisins - 1 handful each
Onion - 1 medium, sliced finely
Coriander leaves
Ghee - 1 tbsp

Instructions
Rice preparation:
Wash and soak the rice in water for 25 minutes. Drain the water completely. Boil 6 cups water with half the quantity of whole masala & keep it aside. Heat ghee in a vessel/pan, splutter the remaining whole masala and add the rice. Fry the rice for around 5-7 minutes or until the rice starts cracking. Add the boiled water, lemon juice & salt. Cook till the rice is done and water is completely dried. Spread the rice in a tray & keep aside

Masala preparation

Marinate the prawns with 1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, pepper powder and salt and keep it for 2-3 hours in the fridge. Meanwhile grind together a handful of coconut & coriander leaves with a little water & keep it aside. Also grind the soaked cashews into a smooth paste.
Shallow fry the marinated prawns after the specified time. Once the prawns are fried, keep it aside and use the same oil to cook onions, remaining ginger garlic paste (1 tbsp) and green chilli. Once onions are fried well, add chopped tomatoes. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add curd, coconut, coriander leaves paste. Once it boils add fried prawns and cook in low flame for 5-6 minutes. Add the cashew paste & 1 tsp of garam masala. Mix well. Cook for 2 more minutes & remove from fire.
Heat ghee in a pan and fry the cashews & raisins. Remove them from the pan & in the remaining ghee fry the onions till it becomes golden brown. Drain the excess ghee in a paper towel & keep it aside.

Layering the Biriyani

Preheat the oven to 180 degree 10 minutes before baking the biriyani. Apply some ghee to a baking dish. Put one layer of masala in the dish. On top of that spread some rice and make another layer. Again spread another layer of masala on top of the rice. Repeat the process until the masala and rice is finished. The top layer should be of rice. You can drizzle ghee & sprinkle coriander leaves in between the layers. Cover the dish with a wet cloth. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.