Prawns rawa fry (crumb-fried prawns with tamarind and chilli)
TIP To butterfly a prawn, score down the body with a sharp knife to expose the black vein. Remove vein and push the meat apart.
Author: Maunika Gowardhan
Ingredients
- 12-15 raw tiger prawns, shelled, tails left on
- 1.5cm piece fresh root ginger
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder or mild paprika
- pinch ground turmeric
- vegetable oil for shallow-frying
- salt to taste
- For the coating
- 4 tbsp coarse semolina
- 2 tbsp rice flour
- pinch of Kashmiri chilli powder or mild paprika
Method
- Butterfly the prawns (or get your fishmonger to do it for you) and set aside. Put the ginger, garlic and tamarind paste in a blender with a couple of tablespoons of water and blitz to a smooth thick paste. Tip this paste into a bowl and add the chilli powder and turmeric along with the salt. Add the prawns to this paste and set aside.
- To make the coating, mix the semolina, rice flour and chilli powder together, making sure there are no lumps. Now coat each prawn in the semolina mixture, pressing lightly to make sure the coating sticks to the prawns and forms a crisp covering.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and add half of the prawns a few at a time. Fry for 1½ mins on each side until they are pink and cooked. Repeat with the remaining prawns.
- Drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately with some mint and coriander chutney and a chilled beer.
