Recipe: Tandoori Jhinga

Say the word prawns, or jhinga, and most of us start salivating. Especially at the thought of jumbo prawns. Chef Zubin D'Souza’s recipe for Tandoori Jhinga requires two marinations and its ingredients guarantee an end result of spicy, karak prawns.

Ingredients

• 280 gm jumbo prawns, cleaned, deveined

Ingredients, continued

For the first marination:

• Salt to taste, around 2 gm
• 30 ml lemon juice

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For the first marination, continued:

• 4 gm ginger paste
• 4 gm garlic paste

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For the second marination:

• 40 gm yoghurt
• 5 gm ginger paste

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For the second marination, continued:

• 5 gm garlic paste
• 3 gm haldi or turmeric powder

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For the second marination, continued:

• 5 gm chilliy powder
• 1 gm garam masala powder

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For the second marination, continued:

• 10 ml lime juice
• 10 gm besan or gram/chickpea flour
• 2 gm ajwain or carom seeds

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• 10 ml oil, for basting while roasting
• 3 gm chaat masala, for serving

Method

• Whisk all the ingredients for the first marinade together, pour over the prawns, mix well, and let rest for 30 minutes in a cool place.
  Prepare the second marinade by whisking toegther the besan, ajwain, and the remaining ingredients, except the oil and the chaat masala, into a smooth, thick paste.

Method, continued

• Drain the prawns from the first marinade, squeezing out any excess liquid.
  Coat the prawns in the second marinade and leave to marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Method, continued

• Skewer the prawns and roast them in a hot tandoor or on a barbecue, basting occasionally with a little oil until crisp and fully done.
• Alternatively, bake them in a preheated oven at 180°C for 10 minutes until golden.
• Before serving, sprinkle with the chaat masala and serve hot with a sliced onions.

Excerpted from Khana Sutra: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook (Rs 250) by Zubin D'Souza, with the permission of publishers Jaico Publishing House.