My Mom's Yummy Brown Kerala Style Prawn Curry Recipe

After a long break of over a month which involved shifting residence and a whole lot of other domestic commitments, I have finally found the time to sit down and enjoy the blogging world. It has been a wonderful feeling connecting with several others for whom cooking is a passion. Going through the treasure house of food blogs online has not only widened my knowledge but must admit has made me really hungry too. I must go across to the kitchen and get a quick bite to pamper my poor tastebuds.

Food blogs and websites dedicated solely to food sure have made it easy for those who plan to make a foray into the world of cooking. With tips and an array of multi-cuisine recipes, you can select from a long list and find exactly what interests you. When I began my culinary experiments this was not an option that was available in India. So it was the cookery shows and the recipe books that played the role of the guide and yes, there are loads of tried and tested recipes of my mother and mother-in-law that saw me through the troubled times of culinary experiments.

This is one of my mom’s wonderful prawn recipes. I just love the flavour of coconut combined with the other spices and the tangy flavour of tamarind that completes it so wonderfully. My mom is an expert with making fish and prawns. There’s really nothing I have tasted that can beat her fish curry and of course this prawns recipe.

About the Prawn Curry
This prawns curry is a traditional Kerala style prawn recipe that has a brown coconut gravy or sauce. I admit that it does involve a little bit of effort, but believe me every bit of it is worth it. This would go great combined with steamed rice. My husband particularly feels that since the curry is a blend of exotic Indian condiments and spices, it must be had with plain rice (and strictly not flavoured rice) to really enjoy the taste of the prawn curry.

Ingredients for the Kerala style prawn curry:
Prawns -1/2 kg (small, de-skinned and deveined)
Coconut-1 cup (grated)
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Dried red chilli- 2
Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp(whole)
Curry leaves- a handful
Tamarind water- ½ cup or according to taste
Garlic- 4 to 5 flakes
Asafoetida-1/4 tsp
Salt – to taste
Oil -1tsp

Method for making the prawn curry:
1-Boil, washed and cleaned prawns with a cup of water ( do not add too much water as prawns would also release water), turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt to taste. When the prawns are more than half done, add the tamarind water.
*In traditional kerala style cooking there is a special tamarind used to make fish curries. It is known as “Kodam Puli” in Malayalam. It is 3-4 pieces of this special tamarind that my Mother adds at this stage of cooking. However, you could add tamarind water instead. Add curry leaves and boil for about 5-8 minutes.

2- Take another pan for preparing the coconut paste. Add 1 tsp oil. Add the grated coconut, whole coriander seeds, dry red chillies and garlic. Sauté till the coconut turns golden brown. Grind in the mixer to a smooth paste. Add a little water if required (however, do not add too much water or the color of your gravy would turn out a light brown color instead of the rich brown yummy gravy).

3- Add this coconut paste to your prawns and let it simmer for about 10 mins. Take another pan and fry small pieces of coconut till golden brown. Add this alongwith a handful of fresh curry leaves to your gravy for an added flavor and taste.

Accompaniment: Plain steamed rice