GOAN PRAWN CURRY

Goa apart from being famous for its pristine south goa beaches, crowded north goa beaches, churches, temples and the most important, its cheap booze, :P there is one more thing that Goa claims to be its pride, The Goan Prawn Curry.

One cannot go to goa and not have their famous Goan Prawn Curry. Every restaurant and shack over there sells this dish and claim theirs to be "The Authentic" Goan Prawn Curry. I'v tried a lot of goan prawn curry, I'v had some good prawn curries, some great prawn curries and some terrible prawn curries. However after a lot of experimenting, trials and willpower I finally found the recipe which has not disappointed me till date.

This is one of my most favorite recipes and whosoever has had it has just been praises for it. It's a favorite family recipe and whenever prawns are brought to the kitchen, this curry is inevitably made.
Now its time to share this recipe with you all, so go and indulge in some prawn curry warmth and happiness. :)

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 kg large prawns (deveined)
• 2 large Onions ( made into a paste)
• 10-12 Dry Red Chillies
• Walnut sized tamarind pulp
• 2 & 1/2 tsp Coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tsp Cumin powder
• 1 tsp Pepper powder
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 12 to 15 Garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp Uncooked rice
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 14 - 15 Curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp Sugar (add 1 tsp if you like it sweet)
• 2 cups of fresh Coconut milk
• 2 or 3 Green Chillies (slit in two)
• salt as per taste
• 5 to 6 tbsp of Mustard Oil (this recipe uses quite a bit of mustard oil for flavor)

STEPS

• Soak the dry red chillies in hot water till they become moist.
• Soak the tamarind pulp in another bowl of hot water and mash it to make it into a thick tamarind paste.
• Marinate the prawns with 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder and 1/2 tsp of salt and let it sit till the gravy is cooked.
• In a wok / kadhai add the mustard oil and once it starts to mildly smoke reduce the heat and drop in the onion paste. Add half of the Curry Leaves and cook on medium heat till the onions turn pink.
• Meanwhile in blender add the soaked dry red chillies along with the water it was soaked in, cumin powder, coriander powder, pepper powder, mustard seeds, turmeric powder, garlic cloves and uncooked rice. Blend this into a fine paste. Add more water if required.
• Once the onions turn pink, add this spice paste to the kadhai and keep cooking.

• Add the remaining curry leaves, salt and sugar and cook for another 10 to 15 mins till the spice paste starts turning brownish and you can smell the cooked spices.
• Now add the coconut water to this paste along with the tamarind paste (make sure you don't drop in the tamarind seeds) and mix well stirring it slowly. The coconut water will start turning into a beautiful yellow color.

• Let this mixture come to a boil on high heat and let it simmer for 4 to 5 mins.
• Now the next step is VERY IMPORTANT. Once the gravy boils, then and only then drop in the marinated prawns. Once all the prawns are in the gravy keep the flame at high and let the gravy boil with the prawns for exactly 5 mins. Then switch off the flame, cover your dish and let it rest for atleast 15 mins. ( Why this step is so important is because prawn meat gets cooked very fast. It is very easy for even good cooks to overcook the prawns and overcooked prawns just ruins the fun of the whole dish. Cooking it this way cooks it to perfection. It keeps the prawns soft, juicy and full of flavor)

• Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice.