Prawn Chettinad Curry: Tamil Treat

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Weekends are boring without the excitement of cooking a new dish. So, Boldsky brings you this special Chettinad recipe to spice up your weekend. This prawn recipe hailing from Tamil Nadu is called Chettinad prawns. There are many varieties of Indian seafood recipes. Every coastal curry does not taste the same. Chettinad prawn curry is thus very different from any other prawn curry hailing from the coasts of India like Prawn Gussi (Goa) or Malai Curry (Bengal).

Chettinad recipes have a very distinct flavour due to the special masala used in them. The masala for Chettinad prawns includes fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, pepper and mustard seeds. You probably realise that Chettinad prawn curry is a traditional Tamil prawn recipe that will take some time to prepare. So a weekend is perfect to try this new dish.

Serves: 4

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Prawns- 400 grams

Turmeric- 1tsp

Peppercorns- 10

Cumin seeds- 1tsp

Fenugreek seeds- 1tsp

Poppy seeds- 1tsp

Mustard seeds- 1tsp

Onion- 1 (sliced)

Garlic pods- 5 (chopped)

Tomato- 1 (chopped)

Green chillies- 5

Coconut- ½ cup (grated)

Coconut oil- 2tbsp

Procedure

• Boil the prawns with salt and turmeric for about 10 minutes on a low flame. Drain away the water and keep the prawns aside.
• Heat a flat pan on a gas oven. Now dry roast the whole spices namely, peppercorns, mustard seeds, poppy seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds on the pan for 2-3 minutes.
• Take them off the flame and let them cool. Once cooled, grind them into a fine powder in a blender.
• Meanwhile heat 1tbsp oil in a deep bottomed pan. Sauté the grated coconut in it for 2-3 minutes.
• Keep stirring or else the coconut may burn. Remove it from the flame and let cool. Then add green chillies to it and grind it into a fine paste.
• Heat the remaining oil in a deep bottomed pan. Sauté the onions in it till they turn golden. Then add the garlic and tomatoes. Sprinkle salt and cook on low flame for 3-4 minutes.
• When the tomato melts to pulp add the Chettinad masala that you prepared. Mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Add the coconut paste to the pan and mix it uniformly. Cook for another 3-4 minutes on a low flame and then add 1 cup of water.
• Add the boiled prawns to this curry and simmer for 5 minutes on a low flame.

Chettinad prawns curry is ready to serve with plain rice.