Colm O'Gorman: Go on, try this Goan Prawn Curry

Perfect for those ‘what have I got in the fridge’ days

During the pandemic, I learned that with a well-stocked spice cupboard, some fresh herbs, and a few basic staples in the fridge and cupboards, I could cook a surprisingly diverse range of very tasty meals.

We have all been there, haven’t we? It is the end of a long day, you are hungry, but have no idea what to cook. You have nothing planned, so you have two choices, order in a take way, or go to the fridge to see what you have there that could be rustled together to make a halfway decent meal. More often than not, up to a few years ago at least, the takeaway was my default. Then the pandemic hit, and all the restaurants closed. The only option left was to get inventive. If my family fancied a takeaway treat, then I would have to make it. That taught me a lot as a cook. I learnt that with a reasonably well-stocked spice cupboard, some fresh herbs, and a few basic staples in the fridge and cupboards, I could cook a surprisingly diverse range of very tasty meals.

I usually have some king prawns in my freezer and chicken in the fridge and I always have tomatoes, garlic, onions, ginger, chillies, spices, and fresh herbs to hand. With these core ingredients, I can make some great Indian, Italian, and Asian dishes. Over the next few weeks, I am going to share some recipes using these ingredients that I hope will become firm favourites in your house and inspire you to get creative on those ‘what have I got in the fridge’ days.

The first recipe in this series is a fabulous Goan Prawn Curry. Seafood is wonderful in a Gaon-style curry, but you can substitute chicken for the prawn if you prefer. Use 300g of skinless, boneless chicken cut into chunks. Follow the method below but cook the chicken in the pan with the coconut oil just before you sauté the onions. Fry it for five minutes until it is almost cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside before adding the onions to the same pan and continuing with the recipe as described below. Add the chicken back to the sauce at the end as you would the prawns. Cook the chicken in the sauce for a bit longer though, about eight to ten minutes, until it is cooked through.

I use frozen king prawns for this dish, as I usually have a pack of those in my freezer. Just make sure to defrost them thoroughly before cooking them. You can of course use fresh prawns if you have them. I have swapped out a few ingredients here for others that you are more likely to have in your kitchen. If you happen to have tamarind paste, use one teaspoon of that instead of the brown sugar and lime juice, and use about ten curry leaves instead of the fresh basil if you can get those. Both are readily available in most Asian Supermarkets.

Goan Prawn Curry

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

Seafood is wonderful in a Gaon style curry, but you can substitute chicken for the prawn if you prefer.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 45 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Indian

Ingredients

• For the curry paste:

• 1 tsp whole or ground black peppercorns

• 1 tsp whole or ground cumin

• 1 tbsp whole or ground coriander

• 1 tsp chilli powder or 4 dried red chillies

• 1 tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tsp brown sugar

• juice of half a lime

• 40g desiccated coconut

• 250 ml coconut milk

• For the curry:

• 2tbsp coconut oil

• 1 onion

• 6 cloves of garlic

• 2 cm fresh ginger root

• 250g tomatoes

• 1 tsp salt

• 200g raw king prawns

• 6 leaves of fresh basil

Method

1. Begin by making your curry paste. In the ingredients list, I have given quantities for both ground and whole spices. Ground spices are a bit more convenient but freshly roasted and ground spices always give the best flavour, so if you have dried red chillies, whole coriander and cumin seed and black peppercorns to hand, swap those for the ground versions.

2. Roast one tablespoon of coriander seed, one teaspoon each of black peppercorns and cumin seed and four dried red chillies in a dry pan over a medium heat until they are fragrant, about three minutes will do it.

3. Grind them to a powder in a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Put all the spices, along with the coconut milk, desiccated coconut, lemon juice, sugar and lime juice into a food processor and blitz to a smooth paste. Set aside for now.

4. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and grate the garlic and ginger. Grate the tomatoes into a bowl using the coarse side of a box grater, discarding the skins you will be left with when you get to the end of each tomato. If you prefer, you can finely chop the tomatoes, but I find grating them quicker and easier and they also incorporate into the sauce more smoothly.

5. Heat the coconut oil in a pan over a high heat. If you do not have any coconut oil, you can substitute rapeseed or olive oil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped onion. Sauté the onion for about three minutes until it is soft and translucent.

6. Add the grated garlic and ginger and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another two minutes taking care not to burn the garlic and ginger. Reduce the heat a little if needs be. Next, add the grated tomatoes. Stir to combine everything well and bring to the boil before reducing to a simmer and covering the pan. Simmer for five minutes.

7. Add the curry paste and the salt and bring the sauce back to a soft boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer once again, cover with a lid and cook for twelve to fifteen minutes. After that time, the sauce will have reduced just a little and deepened in colour.

8. Next, add the raw prawns to the pan. Stir to coat the prawns in the sauce and cook them for three to four minutes depending upon the size of the prawns. They take just minutes to cook perfectly, so be careful not to overcook them or they will become tough and lose their lovely sweet, juicy flavour.

9. Finally, roughly chop the basil and stir that through the curry. Taste and add more season if needed. Serve with boiled rice and some poppadom for a bit of crunch or with naan breads.