SPICED PRAWNS
I love prawns at any time of the year and this is one of my favourite recipes for prawns. I love them hot or cold, but I love to cook them and serve them the next day chilled as the spices really come through after 24 hours.
I will say make sure you have plenty of prawns as they are very moorish.
Coriander Chutney
100g coriander leaves and stalks
3 long green chillies, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon palm sugar
1 teaspoon tomato paste
Prawns
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 dried red chillies chopped
2 cloves
¼ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons peanut oil
12 king prawns, peeled & deveined
12 fresh curry leaves
1 onion finely chopped
1 plum tomatoes, blanched, deseeded, peeled and finely diced
Fresh coriander springs for garnish
Instructions
To make the coriander chutney blend all the ingredients with ½ teaspoon fine salt & 100ml water in a blender until you have a medium/ smooth paste. then store in refrigerator until ready to use.
For the prawns, blend the ginger, garlic & spices with ¼ teaspoon fine salt to a smooth paste or if you have one in a pestle & mortar.
Heat the oil in a fry pan over medium-high heat and sauté the prawns for about 5 minutes until they turn pink and start to curl. Remove the prawns and set aside. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.
Heat a little more oil in the pan and add the onion and curry leaves. Cook for about 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes, now add the spice paste and cook for a further 3 minutes until the aroma of the spices are released. Return the prawns to the pan and mix well, cook for 2-3 minutes then remove from the heat.
Refrigerate overnight in an airtight container.
To serve, mix the prawns well and stack on a plate with a drizzle of the chutney over them. Then garnish with coriander shoots, a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a pinch of sea salt.