This South Indian prawn curry with coconut milk is an easy, deliciously warming seafood curry comfort dish- don't forget to serve with rice! The most "complicated" part is pounding the curry paste but you can always substitute with store bought curry paste if feeling lazy. (In that case, I highly recommend finishing this mild shrimp dinner recipe with a tadka- homemade spiced oil- to enhance the flavor.)
Ingredients
You will need a few simple ingredients:
- 13 large prawns: use raw prawns (not cooked ones) for the best results. Ideally get ones with their shells on, then de-shell them before cooking. (You can save the shells to make prawn stock!)
- 1 red onion: peeled and sliced. White and yellow onions work too but will be less sweet. Alternatively, use shallots.
- 2 large tomatoes: choose vine-ripened ones for better flavor; rough chop
- ½ lb coconut milk
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil or ghee, if you can get your hands on it
- optional garnish: coriander leaves
For the curry paste:
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric powder (or if you can get it, peel and pound fresh turmeric) Make sure you get your turmeric from a. reputable source as there have been reports of lead-contaminated commercial turmeric.
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 3 cloves of fresh garlic: peeled
- 1 inch fresh ginger: peeled
- 2-3 fresh LARGE green chilies: Use the large green chilies which are not spicy. Do not use the small green ones (bird's eye chilies)- those are more common in Thai cooking and will make your mouth burn!
- 2 Tablespoons tomato pureee
- 1 Tablespoon tamarind paste
Note: the recipe is adapted from a Jamie Oliver cooking class in London. (You get amazing Indian food in UK.) I was pleasantly surprised by how authentic it was and thought it would be nice to share after making a few amendments.
Tip: the spice level is mild- if you want to increase it, leave the seeds of the chilies in or add some chili powder.
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
Making the curry paste
1a. On low-medium heat, lightly toast the coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds till fragrant in a dry pan.
1b. On low-medium heat, lightly toast the black mustard seeds in 1 teaspoon of oil till they pop.
1c. Transfer all the spices to your mortar and pestle and allow them to cool.
1d. Peel and chop the garlic, ginger and green chilies into large pieces. (Remove the chili seeds to make it less spicy.)
Once the spices are cool, round them till fine, then add the ginger, garlic and green chili, pounding into a smooth paste.
Mix in the tomato puree and tamarind and stir well.
2a. Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil on medium heat, then stir fry the sliced onion till soft and fragrant and light brown.
2b. Reduce the heat, add the curry paste, and stir fry for 4-5 minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes till soft.
4a. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for 15 minutes.
4b. Increase the heat, add in the prawns, and simmer till cooked through. (About 3-4 minutes.)
4c. Turn off the heat, garnish with coriander, and serve with rice or prata.
🥡 How to Store
Curries actually taste better the next day as the flavours have had more time to meld together! Unfortunately, the texture of seafood often suffers from re-heating.
I would recommend finishing all the prawns, and storing leftover curry sauce in the fridge in an airtight container (for 1-2 days.)
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Tip #1: You can pound a larger quantity of the curry paste, portion it out, and freeze for future use.
Tip #2: If you find the curry too spicy, stir in some Greek yoghurt or drink some mango lassi/ milk. The yoghurt swirled in makes the dish look more attractive, but it makes it milder (and I prefer spicier food) so I've left it out of the main recipe.
Tip #3: Always serve with rice!
🥗 Suggested Accompanying Recipes
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Indian Prawn Curry with coconut milk
Ingredients
For the curry paste
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric powder (or if you can get it, peel and pound fresh turmeric)
- 3 cloves fresh garlic peel, rough chop
- 1 inch fresh ginger peel, rough chop
- 2-3 green chilies Use the large green chilies which are not spicy. Do not use the small green ones (bird's eye chilies)- those are more common in Thai cooking and will make your mouth burn!
- 2 Tablespoons tomato pureee
- 1 Tablespoon tamarind paste
For the prawn curry
- 1 Tablespoon ghee Substitute: vegetable oil
- 1 red onion peeled and sliced. White and yellow onions work too but will be less sweet. Alternatively, use shallots.
- 2 large tomatoes choose vine-ripened ones for better flavor; rough chop
- ½ lb coconut milk
- 13 large prawns use raw prawns (not cooked ones) for the best results. Ideally get ones with their shells on, then de-shell them before cooking. (You can save the shells to make prawn stock!)
- coriander leaves garnish
Instructions
Making the curry paste (You can batch make and freeze)
- On low-medium heat, lightly toast the coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds till fragrant in a dry pan.
- On low-medium heat, lightly toast the black mustard seeds in 1 teaspoon of oil till they pop.
- Transfer all the spices to your mortar and pestle and allow them to cool.
- Peel and chop the garlic, ginger and green chilies into large pieces. (Remove the chili seeds to make it less spicy.)
- Once the spices are cool, ground them till fine, then add the ginger, garlic and green chili, pounding into a smooth paste.
- Mix in the tomato puree and tamarind and stir well.
Cooking the prawn curry
- Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil on medium heat, then stir fry the sliced onion till soft and fragrant and light brown.
- Reduce the heat, add the curry paste, and stir fry for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes till soft.
- Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for 15 minutes. Increase the heat, add in the prawns, and simmer till cooked through. (About 3-4 minutes.)
- Turn off the heat, garnish with coriander, and serve with rice or prata.
Notes
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
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