Prawn Malai Curry
The residents of coastal regions are very fond of seafood. My family is no exception. Both my parents as well as my husband love their fish and prefer eating it over any meat. Being the sole vegetarian in the non-vegetarian family, I have learnt to make a few dishes without much difficulty. This recipe of Prawn Malai Curry is one of them.
I drew inspiration for my recipe from the popular Bengali dish “Chingri Malai Curry”. This dish calls for using tiger prawns, however I made it using medium size prawns which are readily available and cheaper than the bigger variants. The Malaysian Traders in the older days brought the influence of “Malay” curry to Bengali Kitchens. In turn over the years, the dish has evolved to its present state.
My recipe of Prawn Malai Curry is a quick and easy to follow. I am using the store bought Coconut Milk. With a fast, busy life it is very difficult to follow the traditional method of cooking especially when you want to make your meals in a jiffy. In the original method of preparing Prawn Malai Curry, fresh coconut is used to extract coconut milk in a 3-step process.
Even though I have made it a couple of times now…everyone in the family thoroughly enjoys it. Its ideal a for festive occasion as well as special weekend meal. Prawn Malai Curry is a flavourful dish without being too spicy. When you combine the sweetness of fresh prawns with the creaminess of Coconut…you get a wholesome and flavourful dish. The taste of coconut is not over-powering due to addition of Indian Whole spices. It goes well with steaming hot rice or parathas whichever you want to pair with.
Prawn Malai Curry
Succulent prawns cooked in a coconut based gravy inspired by the bong style “chingri malai curry”.
Ingredients
For Marination
- 500 gms Medium Sized Prawns, de-veined
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- To Taste Salt
For the Curry
- 2 nos Onions (medium size)
- 1 inch Ginger
- 2 nos Green Chilli
- 5-6 pods Garlic
- 1 nos Bay Leaf
- 2 nos. Green Cardamom
- 1 nos. Red Chilli
- 1/2 inch Cinnamon stick
- 3-4 nos. Cloves
- To Taste Salt
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1/2 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- 1 cup Coconut Milk
- 1/2 cup Yogurt
- 3 tbsp Oil
- 1 tbsp Ghee or Clarified Butter
- 1 tbsp Freshly chopped Coriander Leaves
Instructions
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Wash and clean the Prawns throughly and marinate them in salt, turmeric and red chilli powder for 15-20 mins
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While the prawns are marinating, in a grinding jar make a fine paste using the onion, garlic, ginger and green chilli together.
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Heat a pan and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, Lightly seers the prawns on both sides. It should take around 1 minute to do so. Overcooking the prawns at this stage will make them tough and chewy.
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After the prawns are lightly sautéed, take them out of the pan. In the same pan add 1bsp Ghee and let it melt. Add the whole spices and let them fry till they release their aroma
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Add the onion, ginger-garlic and green chilli paste which was prepared earlier. Let the paste cook for a while such that the raw smell.
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Add sugar to the masala and saute for few more minutes. Adding sugar will help in caramelising the onions. Add Kashmiri red chilli powder and turmeric powder and salt to taste. Cook the masala together for 1-2 minutes.
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Whisk the yogurt till its smooth. Lower the flame and add the whisked yogurt into the pan, stirring continuously. If you add the yogurt on high flame…it will curdle and make the gravy full of lumps.
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Let the gravy cook until it leaves the sides and you can see the oil on the sides of the pan. At this stage, add the coconut milk and let it simmer for 5 mins.
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Once the gravy thickens, add the fried prawns and let them cook in the gravy for 3-5 minutes.
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Add the Garam Masala and mix. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves. Serve the piping hot Prawn Malai Curry with steamed rice or paratha as per your preference.
