Prawn Ghee Roast

A spicy prawn recipe from the Southern part of India, Prawn Ghee Roast is more than just a roast. It serves as an appetizer as well as a side dish, and it complements plain paratha as well as spicy Biryani. Moreover the smell of ghee just makes this simple prawn roast as royal as anything can ever get.

Step by step process:

Lightly fry the prawns (marinated with turmeric powder and salt) in ghee. Then take them out of the pan.

Add the remaining ghee into the pan and add the chopped onions.

Saute the onions until golden brown.

Add the prepared masala paste.

Cook until all the moisture evaporates and the oil starts to gather at the edges, Add the curry leaves.

Add the kept aside fried prawns. Stir and cook until the gravy becomes dry and clingy and the prawns starts to look like roasted.

Prawn Ghee Roast

Serves 4

Ingredients:

500gm tiger prawns

1 medium onion – finely chopped

6 kashmiri red chillies

1 tbsp tamarind paste

1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
¼ tsp coriander seeds

A pinch of asafoetida

10-12 whole black peppercorns

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp red chilli powder

12-15 curry leaves

¼ cup of thick yogurt

8 cloves of garlic – paste

Juice of 1 lime

¼ cup ghee

Salt

Method:

Dry roast the black peppercorns, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and coriander seeds.

Add the dry red chillies and sauté them for some seconds as well.

Throw them into a grinder. Add the garlic pods, tamarind pulp and a splash of water. Grind all the masalas into a smooth paste.

In the end add the thick yogurt and pulse for some seconds to make a well incorporated paste. Scrap this paste into a bowl and keep aside.

Marinate the prawns with some salt and ½ tsp turmeric powder for 10 minutes.

Melt 2 tbsp ghee in a pan and shallow fry the prawns.

Once they turn lightly golden take them out of the pan and keep aside.

Pour the rest of the ghee (keep 2 tsp for the final step) into the pan / kadai and add the chopped onions.

Sprinkle some salt over them and fry the onions until golden brown.

Add the prepared masala paste.

Add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Stir and cook until all the moisture evaporates and the oil starts to separate.

Add the curry leaves.

Simmer until the curry becomes really dry. Scrap the bottom of the pan continuously so that the curry can’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Add the prawns and stir to mix, so that each and every prawn gets a nice masala coating.

Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium to high flame until the curry becomes dry and clingy.

Squeeze the lime juice and adjust the seasonings.

Drizzle the remaining ghee and switch off the flame.

Serve hot with naan / rice / biryani / layered paratha.