Chettinad Prawn Masala has few spices, and big bold flavors. This is a recipe from the Southern part of India. This dish comes together quite quickly and very flavorful.
South Indian Curries are always close to my heart though. South India offers a variety of quite spicy curries. The spices are pretty similar in a lot of the curries, just vary a slight bit. But, to my amazement a simple fennel can change the whole flavor of the curry or a few curry leaves. Most of the time a chicken, mutton or even a fish curry is a slow cooked one. This one comes from a place called Chettinad. The local cuisine is simply one of the the most spiciest I’ve ever tried, Chettinad Cuisine.
In my opinion, sometimes the most simple preparations of food can be the most delicious. You don’t need to add a whole lot to shrimp to turn them into a culinary delight. This chettinad prawn masala has just a few ingredients and can be on the table in minutes. They’re packed with flavor and perfect served with rice and some daal. Perfect combo!
HOW TO MAKE CHETTINAD PRAWN MASALA
To make this easy prawn masala, the key is the slow roasted spices. Get good quality prawns. The spices are slowly roasted and ground up. Use fresh ingredients. There’s no shortcut to this curry or any substitutions. The color and the texture will wow you just like they did to me.
Make the spice powder and the process is quite easy.
The shrimp get tossed in a pan with the onion masala and salt. Be sure to use fresh minced ginger garlic here, not the stuff that comes in a jar. It just doesn’t taste the same!
These spicy prawns cook very quickly – all you need is about 2-3 minutes per side, depending on the size of your prawn/shrimp. As soon as the prawn turn pink and opaque, they’re done. Be sure to watch carefully so that the prawn don’t get overcooked!
MORE GREAT SHRIMP RECIPES
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 10 curry leaves
- 4-6 red chilies
- 2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger garlic paste
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 7-10 curry leaves
- ⅓ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large tomato, finely diced
- 2 teaspoon water
- 12 jumbo prawns or Shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed if desired
- 3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
- In a small pan, add the spices(coriander seeds, fennel, black pepper, curry leaves and red chillies). On low heat, toss and dry fry them. Once it slightly turns brown and you can smell the spices, turn off the flame and powder it. Set aside.
- Place a pan on medium heat, add oil. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute it for a minute. Add in the onions and saute it for a minute, add the turmeric and salt. Saute. Add the spice powder and toss and saute in oil for 30 seconds before you add the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and cook the tomatoes for about 2 minutes. Then add the shrimp and season with salt.
- Add 2 tsp of water, which helps to collect all the spices from the bottom of the pan and helps it from sticking and scorching.
- Cook for 5 minutes covered, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are pink and opaque. Open the lid and dry the shrimp masala.
- Stir in the cilantro and serve with rice and daal.
If you try this Chettinad Prawn Masala, please leave a comment, feedback and star rating.
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