I don't know about everyone else, I really struggle when it comes to curry when cooking at home. I can never quite get that authentic Indian taste like the pros do. Well ... not until I found this recipe.
Its so simple and tastes like anything you'd get in any decent curry house.
I found the recipe on a blog called Chilli and Mint, and in all honestly every single one of her recipes look mint, and i've been meaning to try out a few more of them. She cooks a lot of the kinda stuff I’d like to cook, maybe now I’ve got around to posting this i’ll actually get around to trying one of her other recipes. I’ll be sure to get back to you if its a good one.
I got my prawns from Aldi for this recipe, they sell them frozen, shell on and already de-veined so when it comes to de-shelling them after they’ve defrosted its a piece of pie, they’re also super juicy and full of flavour. I’d get buying.
Here’s the link to Chili and Mints recipe. I followed it almost word for word apart from when I realised I didn’t have any desiccated coconut for the sauce, I replaced it with some ground almonds and it was still a delight. I served it with brown rice and some green beans. Good luck.
Bengali Prawn Curry
Serves 3-4
INGREDIENTS
500g prawns, peeled, deveined but tails left on (you can get these in the frozen aisle at Aldi)
1 medium sized white onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, skin removed and grated
vegetable oil
3 bay leaves
1 tsp black mustard seeds (I didn’t have black mustard seeds, normal mustard seeds are fine)
25g (or 4/5 tbsp) desiccated coconut/ground almonds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chilli powder (less if you prefer it less hot)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp salt (you may wish to add one more – taste first)
2tbsp chopped tin tomatoes
200ml boiling water
1 tsp ground garam masala
Lemon juice
Know of Butter
METHOD
Heat a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil in a fairly deep frying pan. On a medium heat add the prawns, in stages if your pan is on the small side, so as to seal them. They will curl up slightly and take on a vibrant pinkish hue. After a minute or so turn them over so that both sides are sealed. Then turn them on to their backs so as the top side is also cooked. Remove from the pan and place on a plate to one side, whilst you finish cooking the remaining prawns. Set aside until later.
Add a little more vegetable oil if it is running dry and keeping the oil at a low heat add the black mustard seeds. They will burst open and sizzle so make sure the oil is not too hot as they will spit, if your frying pan has a lid it will come in handy here.
Add the bay leaves and stir with the black mustard seeds.
Add the onion, garlic and ginger to the pan and cook gently for around 5/6 minutes until they begin to soften and bronze in colour.
Add all the spices apart from the garam masala, as well as the salt and sugar. Cook for a minute or two until fragrant before adding the chopped tomatoes.
Add 200ml of boiling water and the desiccated coconut/ground almonds. Bring to the boil and stir.
When almost ready to serve, add the prawns back to the sauce to bring back up to temperature.
Add splash of lemon juice and butter and more seasoning if necesary. Add the ground garam masala to the prawns, give a quick stir and serve immediately.
Serve with basmati rice and buttery green beans.