← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 600 g large shell-on prawns (heads on if you like), deveined
• 1 tsp ground turmeric, divided
• 1 tsp salt, divided
• 3 tbsp mustard oil or other oil
• 1 tbsp Ghee
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 4 cm cinnamon stick
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 4 Cloves
• 2 Dried chillies
• 1 Onion, grated or blended to a paste
• 1 tbsp Ginger, grated
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 3 Green chilli, slit
• 1 can tin of full-fat coconut milk (400 ml)
• ¼ tsp Garam masala

Method

1. Toss the prawns with half the turmeric and half the salt and leave for 10 min.
2. Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat and sear the prawns for 1 minute on each side, just until they turn pink. Lift them out; they will finish cooking in the sauce.
3. Add the ghee to the pan with the bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and dried chillies and fry for 30 seconds.
4. Add the onion and cook for 5–6 min, stirring, until it turns pale golden. Stir in the ginger, the rest of the turmeric, the chilli powder and sugar for 1 minute.
5. Pour in the coconut milk with the green chillies and the rest of the salt. Simmer gently for 5 min, without letting it boil hard, until slightly thickened.
6. Return the prawns and simmer for 3–4 min, until just opaque and curled. Sprinkle with garam masala and serve with steamed rice.

Tips

• Prawns are a shellfish allergen.
• Overcooked prawns turn rubbery, so take them off the heat as soon as they are opaque all the way through.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Bong Eats America's Test Kitchen Sanjeev Kapoor