Prawns in Spicy Sauce

July 27, 2010

Eral varuval is prawns fried with dried and fresh chillies, cumin, turmeric, ginger and curry leaves. The sauce is dry rather than wet — the spices cling to the prawns, and the small amount of liquid reduces away at the end.

Curry leaves are the key. They have a nutty, lightly citrus-like aroma that is hard to replace. If you can get fresh ones, they freeze well. Dried also work, but lose their flavour quickly.

The dish is intended as a side to a South Indian meal with rice and a mild, creamy curry. The spiced, dry character holds up well against something mild and juicy. It can be served both warm and cold — cold works well as part of a buffet or packed lunch.

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
4 dried red chillies
2 fresh green chillies, chopped
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric
1 clove garlic, crushed
2½ cm fresh ginger, chopped
4 curry leaves, crushed
150 g prawns
1 tbsp wine vinegar
salt

Directions

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and fry until golden — 5–6 minutes.

Add the dried chillies and stir for 30 seconds so they take on a little colour and release their flavour into the oil.

Add the fresh green chillies, cumin seeds, turmeric, garlic, ginger and crushed curry leaves. Fry everything for 2 minutes, stirring — the spices should be fragrant but must not burn.

Add the prawns and fry for a further 2 minutes until heated through and flavoured.

Pour in the wine vinegar and season with salt. Leave it to simmer uncovered for 3–4 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce clings to the prawns.

Serve warm or cold as a side dish.

Notes

Active time about 5 minutes, total time around 20 minutes.

Use cooked prawns from the chiller cabinet — they only need to be heated through and absorb flavour. If the prawns are large, halve them. Raw prawns need a little longer in the pan.

Will keep for 2 days in the fridge. The flavour rounds out after a night.