Malvani-Style Prawn Curry: 25-Min Recipe

Flavoursome and fragrant, this delicious coconut cream-infused Malvani-Style Prawn Curry by Mayur Sanap is the ultimate meal.

The curry is easy to make if you have medium to large-sized prawns -- fresh or frozen -- handy.

Larger prawns give the curry more bite and 'mouth feel'.

Ingredients

For the curry:

• 250 gm medium to large prawns, marinated in 1 tsp lemon juice, pinch salt for 15 min
• 1 large onion, finely chopped

Ingredients, continued

For the curry, continued:

• ¼ tsp rai or mustard seeds
• 1 tsp haldi or turmeric powder
• Salt to taste, about 1½ tsp
• 1 tsp Malvani garam masala, store-brought, I prefer K-Pra brand

Ingredients, continued

For the curry, continued:

• 2 tsp red chilly powder
• 5 kokum petals or readymade kokum extract (not kokum syrup, which contains sugar)
• Few curry leaves

Ingredients, continued

For the curry, continued:

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp dhania or fresh coriander leaves or cilantro, chopped
• Hot water as required

Ingredients, continued

For the masala paste:

• 1 cup freshly grated coconut
• 2 tbsp dhania or coriander seeds, roasted
• 1 tbsp jeera or cumin seeds, roasted

Ingredients, continued

For the masala paste, continued:

• 4-5 black peppercorns, roasted
• 3-4 Kashmiri chillies, roasted
• 1-2 fresh green chillies, chopped
• 4 garlic pods, chopped
• 1-inch piece ginger, peeled, chopped
• Water as required

Method

• Grind all the ingredients for the masala paste to a smooth paste in a mixer/blender using a little water and keep aside.
• In a kadhai heat the oil and add the rai, curry pattas, onions.

Method

• Fry the onions till translucent.
  Now add in the masala paste and water as required.

Method, continued

• Cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring intermittently.
Add in the prawns, salt, Malvani masala, kokum extract and cook for about 4 minutes more.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with chapattis or rice and a bowl of freshly made Solkadhi.

Tips
Use regular garam masala as a substitute for Malvani masala and imli for kokum. Quantities remains the same.
The same gravy can be used as a base for Malvani fish, crab, chicken curry or vegetarian options like sautéed mushroom, potatoes, tofu.
Prawns cook relatively quickly. Make sure they are not over cooked.
Chewy prawns are a big no; they should have a soft bite & lovely pinkish-orange hue.
I was enlightened by the Internet to follow the C-method: Well-cooked prawns will curl to form the letter C.
If overcooked, they form an O.