Mozambique peri-peri prawns
Camarão grelhado: Maputo-style grilled prawns in garlic-lime chilli butter
Maputo's waterfront restaurants and the beach shacks of Inhambane and Vilanculos are famous for their prawns: big shell-on prawns split down the back, painted with a sauce of piri-piri chilli, garlic, lime and butter and grilled over coals until the shells blister. You eat them with your fingers, sucking the sauce off the shells, with bread or chips. The mistake is overcooking, which turns them rubbery; they need only 2–3 minutes a side. Chef's tip: split the prawns through the shell and remove the dark vein, so the sauce gets right into the flesh.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: With scissors, cut each of 2 ¼ lb large shell-on raw prawns along the back through the shell and pull out the dark vein. Leave heads and shells on. Keep them chilled until cooking.
Step 2: Melt 2 ⅞ oz butter with 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a small pan over a low heat. Add 5 garlic cloves, 4 red bird's-eye chillies and 1 tsp smoked paprika and cook gently for 2 minutes. Stir in the juice of 1 1 limes and 1 tsp salt.
2 minStep 3: Toss the prawns in half the sauce. Heat a barbecue or a griddle pan until very hot.
5 minStep 4: Grill the prawns for 2–3 minutes a side, until the shells are pink and charred and the flesh is opaque and white all the way through.
6 minStep 5: Pile onto a plate, pour over the rest of the warm sauce, scatter with 2 tbsp chopped coriander and serve with the remaining 1 limes wedges and bread.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 26 g
- Carbs
- 3 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mozambique peri-peri prawns take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 10 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.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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