Prawn Brinjal curry/Eral Kathirikai kuzhambhu: Whenever I visit the fish market, I can’t help looking for prawns. Especially the tiger prawns are my favourite. If the prawns have a glassy look, then it means that they are really fresh. And its best to cook and eat prawns on the same day than refrigerating them. To Balance the heat, I always tend to add veggies to my prawn curry.
In this South Indian prawn curry, I have used brinjal/egg plant . The mild sweetness of prawns combined with brinjal and other spices, makes it an excellent side for steamed rice. Other veggies that add great flavour to prawn curry are tapioca and ridge gourd. There are varied preparation like the chettinad eral kuzhambhu or the goan prawn curry where they tend to grind the masala. My version is slightly different and its even different from my moms preparation.
Ingredients:
1 cup prawns(deveined and cleaned)
4 brinjal (lengthwise thinly cut)
1 & 1/2 big onion(finely chopped)
2 big tomatoes(pureed)
1 tblspn ginger garlic paste
1 green chilly(slit lengthwise)
1&1/2 tblspn red chilly powder
2 tblspn coriander powder
1/4 tspn turmeric powder
1/2 tspn mustard seeds
1 tspn fennel seeds
gooseberry sized tamarind (soaked in water for 10 minutes and juice extracted)
1 sprig of curry leaves
few coriander leaves(finely chopped)
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Heat 3-4 tblspn oil in a kadai. Add the mustard seeds to splutter. Now add the fennel seeds, and curry leaves.
2. Then add the onions and green chilly. Sauté until the onions become golden brown.
3. Now add the ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell goes off.
4. Then add tomato puree, turmeric powder, salt and saute for a minute or two. Then add chilly powder, coriander powder. Saute for a minute.
5. Now add the tamarind juice and 1 cup water. Let it cook in medium flame for 10 minutes.
6. In a separate pan, add 1 tblspn oil & saute the brinjal for 2 minutes and keep aside
6. When the curry starts to bubble, add the brinjal, prawns and cook in medium flame for 7-8 minutes. Switch off the stove.
7. Sprinkle finely chopped fresh coriander leaves on top of the prawn curry and serve hot with steamed rice.
Note: Sometimes I prefer adding coconut milk to the curry along with the prawns and give it a boil. Its taste really good and helps reducing heat.
Happy cooking!
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Sarah's Kitchen 