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Tamil Nadu is the southernmost state of India, and just a breath away from Sri Lanka. The dishes from there are fiercely hot, and generally include (apart from chiles) coconut in some form, coriander seeds, black pepper, fennel and curry leaves. This particular dish caught my attention and it is absolutely delicious. If you want to cut back on the heat, then use milder (or fewer) dried chiles and cut back on the chile powder.
I have not included the prawns in the photos, since this was prepared for a client and then frozen.
Ingredients:
( serves 6-8)
800 gms prawns, peeled and deveined
Coconut oil or vegetable oil
2 medium onions (about 300 gms)
3 large tomatoes, diced
20 gms ginger, grated
6 cloves garlic, minced ( about 25 gms)
4 hot, dried chiles* (I used chile de arbol)
3 gms (1½ tsps) fennel seeds*
6 gms (1½ tsps) black peppercorns*
6 gms (1 Tbsp) coriander seeds*
3 gms (1½ tsps) cumin seeds*
50 gms (¼ cup) dessicated, or fresh coconut*
3 gms (1 tsp) turmeric powder
5 gms (2 tsps) hot chile powder
5 gms (1½ tsps) garam masala
About 15-20 curry leaves
Salt to taste
About ½ lt (2 cups) water, or homemade coconut milk **
Green chiles to garnish
(**) To make homemade coconut milk, take about 150 gms of freshly grated, or dessicated coconut, place in a pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes then strain the coconut milk.
Method:
I have not included the prawns in the photos, since this was prepared for a client and then frozen.
Ingredients:
( serves 6-8)
800 gms prawns, peeled and deveined
Coconut oil or vegetable oil
2 medium onions (about 300 gms)
3 large tomatoes, diced
20 gms ginger, grated
6 cloves garlic, minced ( about 25 gms)
4 hot, dried chiles* (I used chile de arbol)
3 gms (1½ tsps) fennel seeds*
6 gms (1½ tsps) black peppercorns*
6 gms (1 Tbsp) coriander seeds*
3 gms (1½ tsps) cumin seeds*
50 gms (¼ cup) dessicated, or fresh coconut*
3 gms (1 tsp) turmeric powder
5 gms (2 tsps) hot chile powder
5 gms (1½ tsps) garam masala
About 15-20 curry leaves
Salt to taste
About ½ lt (2 cups) water, or homemade coconut milk **
Green chiles to garnish
(**) To make homemade coconut milk, take about 150 gms of freshly grated, or dessicated coconut, place in a pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes then strain the coconut milk.
Method:
- In a frying pan, dry toast all the ingredients marked with a (*) until they brown. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then grind to a powder.
- Slice, or dice the onions . Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions. Cook until they wilt, then add the ginger and garlic. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes (add a splash of water if the pan gets dry) and then add the spice paste (masala). Stir once or twice.
- Now add the tomatoes and a tsp or so of salt, and cook through for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, or water and bring to a boil. Mix all the ingredients together well then lower the temperature to medium-low.
- Add the turmeric, chile powder, garam masala and the curry leaves. Cook the sauce gently for about 20-30 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened completely. (At this stage, I used the immersion blender to make the sauce smoother - it's up to you).
- Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.
- Now add the prawns and cook through until they are just pink, about 3-4 minutes, depending on the size.
