Ambotik Prawns – Fiery Goan Curry
- 800 grams Prawns
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Coconut oil
- 4 tablespoons Coriander seed
- 4 teaspoons Cumin seeds
- 8 Kashmiri red chillies
- 12 Garlic
- 2 teaspoons Black peppercorns
- 2 teaspoons Cloves
- 2 inch piece Cinnamon
- 1 cup Grated coconut
- 3-4 teaspoons Lime juice
- 3 tablespoons Coconut oil
- 1 cup Onion (chopped)
- 1 cup Tomato (chopped)
- 2-3 tablespoons Tomato paste
- 1/2 cups Coconut milk
- 2 cups Fresh chicken stock
- 1/2 cups Coriander leaves
Wash and pat dry cleaned and deveined prawns. Marinate with salt, turmeric, chilli powder and coconut oil for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, roast the spices listed and grind along with freshly grated coconut and lime juice to a fine paste. Add little water if needed. Keep aside.
Heat a heavy bottom wide pan or skillet on high flame. Add 3 tbsp of coconut oil. Fry marinated prawns, stirring continuously. Fry until water has evaporated and prawns are lightly fried. Keep aside.
To the same pan, add onions and sautee until it is brown. Add chopped tomatoes and tomato paste, saute until oil starts to leave the sides.
Add ground paste. Cook for a few minutes. Deglaze the pan 2-3 times with 1 and 1/2cups of chicken stock. At this point, the curry base should be thick, well cooked and oil leaving the sides. Adjust salt. This stage takes time. Don't skip. This gives flavour to the dish.
Add fried prawns, cook again on high flame until prawns has absorbed all the flavours. Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock and simmer for a few minutes.
Add 1/2 cup of coconut milk, simmer for a few minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves. Rest for 10 minutes. Serve warm.
Prawns - I prefer to use fresh water prawns for its soft texture and flavour.
Prep ahead - The curry base can be prepared ahead and stored in the fridge upto a week. Bring it to room temperature. Heat it up, add chicken stock, fried prawns and coconut milk and simmer. Garnish and serve warm.
Refrigerating - The fully prepared dish can be refrigerated upto 4 days in the fridge. Warm it up on low flame, add hot water if needed. Garnish with coriander leaves before serving.
Coconut milk - You can use coconut milk powder for this recipe. Add 1/2 cup of water to 2 tbsp of milk powder, stir and use. If using fresh coconut milk, make sure it's not thick coconut milk. Do not cook for long after adding coconut milk and do not add more coconut milk than mentioned in the recipe.