Madhur Jaffrey’s – Singapore-Style Prawn Curry

 This is very versatile dish from Singapore and appears in the fantastic “Ultimate Curry Bible” by Madhur Jaffrey. I have made this particular dish too many times to count and it is a staple whenever we have a curry night. 

 I originally was drawn to it as you can make the base for the sauce in advance, either earlier in the day or even the day before, especially useful when you are serving a few dishes for a meal or a party. It means that when it comes time it is a simple case of heating the base, adding coconut milk then finally the prawns and coriander taking a lot of stress from the final preparation. It is a thin, light sauce and as such goes great with white rice and chapattis as well as alongside richer meat or vegetable dishes.

The sauce itself is not just restricted to prawns however, and I have used it with white fish and chicken also to great effect. Similarly I recently loosened the sauce some more with additional coconut milk and served it in bowls over cooked rice noodles as opposed to rice as more of a broth which was particularly well received.

Note –  Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients here …. it is all to do with the spicing and all are readily available, and is a relatively easy dish to assemble. 

The recipe in the book says serves 6 – with 900g of prawns that is probably fair, but I often make with less and keep the sauce for simply have more sauce! A simple 225/250 bag of frozen prawns (defrosted!) is enough for 2 or 3

Ingredients

4 tablespoons oil – book says corn/peanut but simple vegetable also works

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds

10-15 fresh curry leaves – I have often substituted dried

3 shallots / approx. 90g/3oz cut to slivers – I have often substituted onion here to no detrimental effect

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced into slivers

1 medium tomato (180g/6oz) peeled and finely chopped – I have also used a tinned tomato when not had fresh available, and don’t always peel the fresh ones, but only when using processor to chop as tomato skin is not the nicest thing in a curry

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated – I have also used ginger ready made paste when no fresh.

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

1 teaspoon salt

900g/2lb raw, headless shell on prawns peeled and deveined (additional 450g/1lb if heads on)

Personally I think this is a lot…. And makes it expensive dish. I work on 250g/2 people of frozen raw prawns (defrosted), Sauce is enough for 4 to 6, but I like the additional sauce and make same amount even for 2. 

400ml/14 fl oz can coconut milk, well shaken

Handful fresh coriander, chopped 

250ml/8fl oz water

You will also need a wide, preferably lidded pan to cook the dish in. 

Method – this is way I make it, not necessarily the same steps as the recipe in the book!

Firstly prep everything and together the spices in the way they are to be added to this dish, this saves time and confusion later on. I normally use some bowls to collate the different ingredients ready for easy adding to the pan.

 In separate small bowls/dishes bring together

–           – the cumin, fennel and fenugreek seeds

–           – chopped shallots and sliced garlic

–           – chopped tomatoes and ginger

–           – ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, salt and paprika

Once this is done you are ready to go and the dish is now simple to make.

Heat the oil in a wide pan over a medium high heat.

Once oil is hot add the cumin, fennel and fenugreek seeds, give them a stir then add the curry leaves.

Stir for literally just a few seconds then add the shallots and garlic, reducing the heat a bit so not so fierce. You want the shallots to soften and go a golden colour but not burn.

Next add the chopped tomatoes and ginger and cook until the tomatoes break down into a paste, using a wooden spoon to help them along. I normally cook until I see the oil separating from the tomatoes around the edges.

Next add the ground spices, salt and the tamarind and stir to mix, followed by the water. Stir whilst this base sauce comes to a simmer, and then cover the pan, reduce the heat to low and leave to simmer away for 10-15 minutes.

At this point you can leave the sauce until you are nearly ready to serve the dish. I often do this stage hours before, sometimes the previous day and it keeps well in addition to taking some pressure off you cooking to time.

When ready simply reheat the sauce, and bring to a simmer then add the coconut milk and stir, followed by the raw prawns . reduce to low so the prawns cook but not overcook, and simmer until they change colour and are opaque. Turn off the heat at this point and stir in as much coriander as you like, a handful is about right, though personally I prefer more than that.

Serve simply with rice and whatever accompaniments you fancy. I normally also serve with chapatti’s also, but then I love them!

Enjoy!

The Finished Dish. 

As you can see a thin sauce, but a tasty one .

I like to serve with plain rice, but also naan and/or  chapattis go well to soak up the sauce

As an Alternative….. 

I tried this one night as my partner didn’t want rice, and fancied a lighter offering.

Simply soak some dried  rice noodles (I used the thin vermicelli, but whatever is your noodle of preference) for a few minutes. Place in a serving bowl and spoon over the sauce and prawns. I loosened the sauce a little with some water first, but this all about your preference on the thickness of the sauce.