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Andaman coconut prawn curry
Andaman prawn curry — Port Blair's coconut-milk prawns with Bengali-style spices
Many families in Port Blair and the South Andaman villages trace their roots to Bengal, and their seafood cooking blends that heritage with the coconut palms growing everywhere on the islands. This prawn curry starts like a Bengali malaikari — mustard oil, bay leaf, whole garam masala and onion paste — but leans more heavily on fresh coconut milk, and the prawns come straight from the Junglighat fish market. It is everyday island food, eaten with plain rice and a squeeze of lime. Chef's tip: heat the mustard oil until it just smokes, then let it cool for a minute; that takes off the raw, sharp edge.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Toss 1 ⅛ lb large raw prawns with 0.25 tsp of ¾ tsp ground turmeric and a pinch of 1 tsp salt and keep them in the fridge.
2 minStep 2: Heat 3 tbsp mustard oil in a wide pan over a medium-high heat until it just starts to smoke, then take it off the heat for 1 minute. Return to a medium heat and sear the prawns for 1 minute on each side until they turn pink outside. Lift them out; they will finish cooking in the sauce.
3 minStep 3: In the same oil, fry 2 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 green cardamom pods and 3 cloves for 20 seconds. Add 2 onions and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until it turns light brown and smells sweet.
10 minStep 4: Add 1 tbsp ginger paste, the rest of the turmeric, 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder and 1 tsp ground cumin with 2 tbsp water and fry for 2 minutes until oil separates.
2 minStep 5: Pour in 1 ¾ cups coconut milk, add 3 green chillies, ½ tsp sugar and the remaining salt and simmer gently for 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
5 minStep 6: Return the prawns and simmer for 3–4 minutes until they are pink and opaque all the way through. Common mistake: adding the prawns at the start of the simmer — by the time the sauce is ready they are tough.
4 minStep 7: Sprinkle with ½ tsp garam masala, rest for 2 minutes and serve with rice and 1 lime.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 9 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does andaman coconut prawn curry take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
- What can I use instead of bay leaves?
- Leave it out, or a pinch of dried thyme (it's a background flavour).
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