The Ultimate Recipe For Kerala Style Prawn Curry

Name: How to Make The Ultimate Recipe For Kerala Style Prawn Curry | Easy & Delicious The Ultimate Recipe For Kerala Style Prawn Curry Recipe
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: south-indian-malabar-cuisine

Have you tried Malabar prawn curry? It’s a unique and traditional preparation with a base of coconut milk to balance the heat and tanginess with sweet notes. It is served with flaky Malabar parotta and steamed rice to complete a spread.

prep time 00 Hour 20 Mins

cook time 00 Hour 45 Mins

chef Azmia Iqbal

Have you ever visited ‘God’s Own Country’? Known for its greenery, clean coastline, mesmerising backwaters, and lip-smacking cuisine, Kerala is a popular tourist destination in India, both among domestic and international travellers. Boasting a coastline of around 600 km, the seafood delicacies in the state are like no other.

The regional prawn curry is one such delight that pescatarians and non-veg food lovers must savour while exploring the state. Why, you ask? Because it is packed with flavours – sweetness and creaminess from coconut milk, heat, warmth, and earthiness from regional spices, and tanginess from tamarind water. It is a wholesome dish that comes with steamed rice and Malabar parotta on the side. Imagine this one on the table, and drooling is inevitable.

Since Kerala was the hub of the spice trade of India with the world, the regional delicacies boast a symphony of notes from cardamoms, black pepper, cinnamon, and ginger. This prawn curry also has the richness

Step 1

Boil some water in a pan and drop in kokum or tamarind. Keep it aside for 10-15 minutes to extract a tangy solution that will balance salty and sweet notes in the recipe.

Step 2

Clean the prawns and toss them with a mixture of salt, turmeric powder, garlic, and ginger. Coat the seafood nicely with the spices and keep this mixture aside for a while.

Step 3

Heat a pan and keep it on medium heat. Add oil, and 15 minutes later, drop in mustard and cumin seeds. When the seeds start spluttering, add curry leaves and green chillies.

Step 4

Fold in chopped onion and shallots into the pan and cook until they turn translucent and start caramelising. This will also add to the sweetness.

Step 5

Add Kashmiri red chilli powder for the colour, and 10 minutes later, add shrimp and tamarind water/ paste.

Step 6

After searing for a minute or two, you will know when the blend is done. It will start exuding an orange hue and will curl up.

Step 7

This is the stage when you should pour coconut milk into the pan, stir the ingredients, and put on the lid. Soon, the mixture will come to a boil, and prawns will absorb the flavours and become softer with coconut milk.

Step 8

Taste the curry and balance the sweet, tangy, and salty notes so that there is a perfect balance among the flavours.

Step 9

Garnish the curry with chopped coriander leaves and serve it hot with Malabar parotta and steamed rice.

Tips and Tricks

Prawns that exude a strong scent of fish are not ideal, but they are on the path to being spoiled. You will also notice black spots on them. Avoid them and get a fresh lot from the market.
Since you are using coconut milk, use coconut oil to complement the flavours. It adds nuttiness, which is a hallmark of Malabar cuisine.
The key to making this prawn curry is striking a perfect balance among savoury, sweet, and tangy notes. Use spices and adjust flavours at the end.
If you are planning to use frozen prawns, don’t forget to thaw them at room temperature; otherwise, the curry will turn watery.
You can infuse the dish with smoky notes by tempering it in the end with mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies, and fenugreek seeds.
To build a robust flavour in the recipe, make sure to roast spices, aromatics, and onions before you fold in prawns. It adds character to the dish.
Overcooked prawns are rubbery and chewy; therefore, they should be cooked to perfection. You need to sear them for a minute before adding coconut milk. They turn opaque when they are cooked through.

Calories 270-350 Kcal

Total Fat 11-21 g

Carbs 14-30 g

Protein 15-32 g

ESSENTIAL ITEMS

1 tsp Garlic

500 gm Shrimp

2 tsp Turmeric

2 tsp Ginger

1 piece Green chilli

2 tbsp Coconut oil

12 piece Curry leaves

as per taste Salt

300 ml Coconut milk

1 tsp Cumin seeds

3 piece Shallots

1 tbsp Tamarind paste

2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder

1 tsp Mustard seeds

2 chopped Coriander leaves

OPTIONAL

1 chopped Onion

Recipe by:

Azmia Iqbal

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The Ultimate Recipe For Kerala Style Prawn Curry

Tips and Tricks

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