Prawn Malai Curry

My husband not only is a big connoisseur of food, he’s a great cook himself! Well, over the years he’s gone from being a good to an excellent cook. This prawn preparation is a very famous Bengali prawn preparation, but normally the way I cook is a little different than this recipe. Well, the fact is, this is my husband’s way of making this preparation. I would love to share this recipe with you all as it tastes great….may be even better than the one I normally make! :)

Difficulty: Easy | Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 20 mins| Yield: 4-5 Servings

INGREDIENTS
24 Medium Prawns
1 Cup Coconut Milk
1 Cup Milk
1½ Medium Onion
1 tsp Ginger Paste
4 Green Chillies*
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp Cumin Powder
2 tsp Kasmiri Red Chili Powder**
2 Bay Leaves
2 Whole Cardamoms
½” Cinnamon Stick
4 Whole Cloves
2 Dry Red Chilli
4 tbsp Ghee (Clarified Butter)
1 tsp Sugar
Coriander Leaves (for garnishing)
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Remove the shells of prawn, leaving the tails intact. De-vein them and clean thoroughly.
   
2. Make a paste of the onion and leave it aside.
3. Heat 2 tbsp of ghee and fry the prawns lightly. The prawns would now be red in colour.
4. Leave them aside.
5. Heat the rest of the ghee.
   
6. Add the bay leaves, dry red chillies, cardamoms, cinnamon and the cloves. Stir for a few seconds till they slightly change in colour.
7. Add the onion paste and fry till light brown in colour.
   
8. Now add the ginger paste and fry for another minute or so.
9. Now add the powdered masala and a little water. Fry for a while till the water evaporates and then add little more water again. Again, keep frying till the oil separates.
   
10. Now add the coconut milk and the milk.
    
11. Bring this to a boil and add the sugar and the salt as per taste.
12. Add the prawns and the green chillies after making a slit in them.
    
13. Simmer and cook will the prawns are cooked and the gravy has a nice thick creamy texture.
    
14. Before serving remove the whole spices from the gravy and garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
15. Serve hot with steamed rice.

NOTES
* Add as per taste.
** Kashmiri red chilli powder is not too hot but it gives the gravy a nice red colour.

Coconut Prawns in Coriander Rice

Difficulty: Easy | Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 30-40 mins | Yield: 2 servings

This simple and light recipe serves as a one item meal, ideal for dinner. One may also serve it as separate dishes with some accompaniments.

For the Prawns:

INGREDIENTS
10-12 Prawns*
½ cup Shrimps*
½ large Capsicum
1½ cups Coconut Milk (Thick)
2 large Garlic Pods
½ Lemon
¼ tsp Red Chillie Powder
2 tbsp Oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Remove the shells of the prawns, keeping its tails intact. De-vein and clean them well.
   
2. De-vein and clean the shrimps as well. The shells should be removed fully in this case.
3. Thinly slice the capsicum and grate the garlics.
4. Marinate the prawns and the shrimps with the garlic and the juice of the lemon for 5-10 mins.
5. In a pan heat the oil and add the marinated prawns and shrimps. Cook on hig flame till water evaporates.
6. Add the capsicums and fry for a while till the capsicums softens.
7. Now add the coconut milk, chillie powder and a little salt according to taste.
8. Cook for a minute or two and remove from flame. If you use a light coconut milk then keep the heat on till you get a creamy gravy.
   

For the Rice:

INGREDIENTS
2 cups Rice (Ideally Basmati Rice)
2 tbps Coriander Leaves**
3 tbsp Butter
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash the rice and put it in a microwave safe bowl.
2. Add 4 cups of water.
3. Now add the turmeric powder, butter, coriander leaves and salt (about 2 tsp).
4. Cook it for 20 mins. Once done, stir the rice lightly with a fork.
5. To cook in a pressure cooker, melt the butter in the cooker, add the turmeric powder.
6. Then add the rice and the salt. Cook till the water eveporates and the rice is lightly fried. Add water as required depending on the type of rice used. Cook till done. Stir in the coriander leaves once the rice is cooked.

How to Serve

Now take a full plate and arrange half the rice in the shape of a Donut. Pour half of the prawn preparation. Repeat with another plate.

NOTES
*You may use only Prawns. In that case use around 18-20 of them
**The rice can be made without coriander leaves as well. Simple buttered rice also gives a lovely taste.

Prawn Batterfry

Difficulty: Easy | Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 5 mins | Yield: 2-3 servings

INGREDIENTS
8 Medium Sized Prawns
Oil for Deep Frying

For Marination:
2 tsp Soya Sauce
1 tsp Chillie Sauce*
1 tsp Tomato Sauce
½ tsp Pepper Powder*
½ Tsp Lemon Juice / Vinegar
Salt to taste

For the Batter:
4 tbsp Flour (Maida)
1 tbsp Oil
¼ tsp Red Chillie Powder*
¼ tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Clean the prawns by peeling off its shells and de-veining them. Remove the heads but make sure to keep the tails intact.

2. Mix all the ingredients for the marination and marinate for 15 – 20 mins.

3. In the mean while prepare the batter by first adding the oil into the flour and mixing them well. Then add the other ingredients and a little water so as to get a thick and consistent batter. Make sure not to add too much water as the batter should not be thin.
4. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying and then holding the prawns by their tails, dip and roll them nicely into the batter and then drop them into the hot oil. The tails should not be coated with the batter.
   

5. The coating of the prawns would puff up when deep fried. Fry till golden brown and then take them out and leave them for a few mins on an absorbent paper so that the excess oil is soaked up by the paper.
6. Serve hot with ketchup or chillie sauce.

NOTES
*You may increase the quantity of these if you wish to make the fries spicier.