Prawn Curry - Simple Comfort Food

Now with the festive season over for the time being and before we dive into the Christmas - New Year celebration frenzy, how about indulging in some simple comforting everyday dishes. Am sure most of us have indulged majorly during pujas and Diwali and now its time to get back to some easy "ghar ka khana". That ofcourse wouldn't mean that we stop eating tasty food. Sometimes the simplest of meal bring so much respite to our tired souls. I for one is going through a super hectic stressful phase ( would elaborate maybe later sometime ) For now I made this very simple flavourful Prawn Curry with everyday spices and enjoyed it with some boiled rice and a squirt of lime. I made it a little spicy coz I felt like eating a hot curry! You can easily adjust the spice levels according to your taste buds.
Prawn is something immensely enjoyed by us at home and this is a perfect dish which doesn't require much of a preparation.

Ingredients:

Prawns - 500 gms - medium sized - de shelled and deveined

Potato - 1 large or 2 medium sized - cut into cubes

Onion - 1 large - thinly sliced

Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp each

Red chilli powder - 1 and half tsp - adjust according to taste

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp + 1 tsp

Cumin powder - 1 heaped tsp

Tomato puree - 2 tbsp.

Bay leaf - 2 nos

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Sugar - half tsp

Green chillies - 4-5

Refined oil - 1 tbsp for frying the prawns and 1 tbsp. for the gravy

Method:

Wash and dry the prawns. Marinate with 1 tsp turmeric and salt.
Heat 1 tbsp oil and lightly sauté the prawns till they turn golden.
Drain and keep aside.

In the same pan add another tbsp of refine oil.

Add the bayleaf. Next add the sliced onion and fry till slightly browned.
Add the ginger garlic paste and fry that too.

Next tip in the cubed potatoes and fry for 2-3 mins.
Add all the dry spices  except the garam masala - cumin powder,red chili powder,turmeric , salt and sugar along with the tomato puree.

Roast the spices well, add a little water if the masalas stick to the sides. Roast on low flame so that it doesn't burn.

Once the spices start to leave oil on the sides, add one cup water and let the gravy simmer for 5 mins.

Add the sautéed prawns , green chilli and garam masala powder. Give it a boil and remove from heat.

Serve with hot rice and some lime on the side. Even some roasted papad would go really well with it #afterthought

 
Notes :

• Don't overcook the prawns as they would turn rubbery.
• You could also add some diced tomates for that extra tang.
• Tomato purees are as it is very tangy so cut out on that if using fresh tomatoes.
• You could also garnish with some fresh coriander leaves.
• Medium sized prawns work best with this dish. But you could use big ones too. You could also replace prawns with either rohu or katla.

 

Chingri Narkel Shorshe - Prawns in a coconut mustard gravy

Sunday lunches are special. Its that one day of the week when we do nothing, watch mindless television, don't get out of our pajamas and are generally very lazy! But that doesn't mean we like to compromise on our Sunday lunch ritual. It can be a one dish meal but it better be good. And for such days I am always on the lookout for easy tasty recipes that doesn't require me to slog in the kitchen - its my Sunday too u see! With some prawns lying in my freezer I knew exactly what I wanted to make. Nopes not the usual Chingri Malai kari but something new this time - Chingri Narkel Shorshe - Prawns in a coconut mustard gravy. The recipe again uses just a few ingredients and goes very well with some hot steamed rice. Its light and fragrant gravy is a sure shot winner and making this hardly took anytime. I could simply breeze in and out of the kitchen - la,la,la

Ingredients:

Prawns - 500 gms - medium sized - deveined and cleaned

Mustard paste - 2 tbsp

Coconut milk - 1 cup

Grated coconut - 2 tbsp

Kashmiri red chili powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp + 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Sugar - 1 tsp

Mustard oil - 2 tbsp for frying the prawns + 1 tbsp for the curry

Nigella seeds / Kalojeera / Kalonji seeds - a pinch

Green chillies - 4-5 slit

Method: 

Wash and clean the prawns. Mix well with 1 tsp turmeric and salt. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and saute the prawns till they turn opaque. Remove from heat and keep aside.

In another pan , heat 1 tbsp oil. Add the kalojeera/nigella seeds. Once they splutter add the mustard paste and the grated coconut. Once the coconut starts to brown add red chili powder , turmeric powder , salt and sugar. Mix well and add a little warm water to prevent the masala from burning. 

Next add the coconut milk , stirring continuously . Add the sauteed prawns and the green chillies and let the gravy simmer for 2-3 mins.

Remove from heat and serve hot with plain rice.

This I think is one of the easiest way to cook prawns. Traditionally this dish is steamed , ideally wrapped in a banana leaf. My original plan was to do it the real way and i had even arranged a banana leaf but then I got lazy and tried it out this way and it came out yumm!

You all try it out and tell me about it , till then have a great week!

Chingri Maacher Chorchori ( Spicy Prawns)

Let me start by wishing all my readers Shubho Bijoya. I am sure each one of you had a splendid Durga Puja / Navratri celebrations. As for me I had a beautiful time with folks at home. There was a lot of bonding, adda and of course a lot of great food. The four days of Puja we eat vegetarian food but on Doshomi - the last day after bidding farewell to the goddess we simply binge on everykind of non - veg dishes. There is an array of fishes that is being cooked with prawns being one of them. This year I decided to cook a spicy prawn curry that would go well with rice and ended up making a chorchori. A chorchori in simple words would be a mish mash of spices.usually a mish mash of veggies..but there are many non- veg variants as well. Its very easy to make and is a bit spicy in nature. Here's my Chingri Maacher Chorchori recipe.

Ingredients:

Prawns (medium sized) - 500 gms - washed and deveined

Onions - 2 medium - finely sliced

Tomato - 1 medium - quartered

Potato - 2 medium - cut into cubes and lightly fried

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 2 tsp - use more if you like the heat

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp + 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Sugar - 1 pinch

Bay leaves - 2 nos

Coriander leaves - a handful - finely chopped

Green chillies - 3-4

Mustard oil - 2tbsp + 2 tbsp

Method:

Wash , clean and devein the prawns. Marinate with 1 tsp turmeric and some salt and keep aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan add 2 tbsp oil and saute the marinated prawns for 5-7 mins till they turn opaque in colour. Don't fry for too long or else they get overcooked. Drain the prawns and keep aside.

In another pan add 2 tbsp mustard oil. Once the oil heats up add the bay leaves. Add the sliced onions and the ginger garlic paste. Fry till the mixture gets a golden brown colour.
Now add the tomatoes , turmeric powder, red chilli powder , salt and sugar. Fry this mixture for 7-10 mins.Also add the fried potato cubes at this stage. Add a cup of water and let the gravy simmer for another 5 mins.

Lastly tip in the prawns and give it a good mix. Add the chopped coriander and the green chillies and serve hot with rice.