A couple of months ago a girlfriend and I went out to dinner, where we ordered a balti prawn curry and something about that curry stayed with me. The delicate aromas of cardamom and turmeric permeating through those succulent prawns, every mouthful was so moorish. All these months later I was having dinner with the same girlfriend again and decided to have a crack at remaking this beautiful Balti Prawn Curry. I am sucker for carbs so I added potatoes to my version of this curry and it would be safe to say we were sent into a comatose, with full bellies and satiated souls. This meal was all that and more.
For all you gorgeous people that wanted the recipe, here goes.
Ingredients
Half a kilo of prawn cutlets
Four medium potatoes cut in wedges
One onion finely chopped
One thumb size piece of ginger sliced
Four green whole chillies
Two tomatoes chopped
400 ml of coconut milk
One large bay leaf
Four cardamom pods, crushed
Four cloves
One teaspoon cumin powder
One and a half teaspoon coriander powder
Half a teaspoon of turmeric powder
Half a teaspoon of white pepper
Salt to season
Two tablespoons of ghee
Steps
1. Heat one tablespoon of ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Add onions, ginger, bay leaf, cardamom and cloves.
2. Once onions are lightly caramelised, add tomatoes. Then add turmeric, cumin and coriander powder. Cook until tomatoes are soft and the oil separates from the paste.
3. Add potatoes to the tomato paste and mix well, coating all the potatoes in the marinade. Add the coconut milk and 400ml or water. Season with salt, white pepper and put the lid on. Cook until potatoes are soft. Transfer the curry in another saucepan and let it simmer.
4. Meanwhile heat a tablespoon of ghee in the same pan you cooked the curry in. Add green chillies and half a teaspoon of coriander powder. Once aromatic, add the prawns and mix well to coat the prawns in the leftover curry flavours and the coriander powder. Cook until the prawns are charred and cooked through.
To serve pour the potato curry in a service dish and top it off with prawns. Best served with jeera (cumin) rice and a cucumber raita. Every mouthful a slice of heaven #lipsmackinglydelicious
If you liked reading this recipe and are keen to try out more such recipes, please don’t forget to follow me on Instagram or Facebook. Simply look for @lipsmackinglydelicious
Shakun Sharma
( Australia )