Fiery Prawn Masala

Fiery Prawn Masala: cooked in a robust tomato onion masala, flavored with red chilies and garlic. 

If you love a good spicy dish then you’re going to love this Fiery Prawn Masala. The rich base of onions, tomatoes, chilies and garlic will have you swooning. Serve it as an appetizer or make it a satisfying meal with flaky parathas or rice. This is a quick, jhatpat recipe that comes together in less than half an hour!

{Similar Reads: Spicy Shrimp and Spinach Pasta}

Selecting your prawn/shrimp

I use raw, deveined, large prawns. Please don’t use pre cooked prawns as the flavors will not absorb and the prawns/shrimp will end up with a rubbery texture. 

You can use any size of prawns for this dish, I used a large size but it would be amazing with jumbo prawns as well! 

If you don’t have access to fresh seafood, frozen prawn/shrimp would work just as well.

To defrost, put them in in a dish and cover them with room temperature water for 15-20 minutes. 

Spice level

This dish is meant to be a spicy one. The fresh garlic along with the chili flakes makes your mouth water as this dish is cooking. You can reduce the amount of chilies per your spice tolerance.

How to make the best Fiery Prawn Masala

• Unlike many gravy dishes, there is no need to cook down the onions completely. I love that this masala has a bit of body to it. As soon as your onions go soft you can add your tomatoes. 
• Use the best quality prawns you can find. This has a huge impact on the flavor of your dish! 
• Try and use fresh ingredients. Because this dish only has a handful of ingredients, try using fresh tomatoes, ginger and garlic when possible.
• Watch your prawns. You don’t want to overcook the prawns which will result in a rubbery texture. 6-7 minutes total cook time is more than enough for prawns.
• Garnish with generous squeezes of fresh lemon juice and fresh cilantro, this will add so much flavor to your dish!

Fiery Prawn Masala

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Fiery Prawn Masala: cooked in a robust tomato onion masala, flavored with red chilies and garlic.

Author: Nisha Vedi Pawar

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• ½ pound raw prawns/shrimp (about 15 large shrimp)
• 1 cup onion, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoon chili flakes
• ½ cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ginger paste, purée or grated
• ½ teaspoon jeera/cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• ½ teaspoon dhaniya/coriander powder
• ¼ teaspoon teaspoon haldi/turmeric
• 6-7 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ½ teaspoon teaspoon lal mirch/red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
• 2 tablespoon oil
• ½ cup warm water
• Juice of one lemon
• Fresh cilantro for garnish

Method

1. Heat oil in a pan on medium heat, add sliced onion.
2. Once onions are coated in oil, add red chili flakes and mix.
3. As onions start to soften, add in ginger followed by tomatoes, garlic and tomato paste.
4. Mix well and once tomatoes become soft add in cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder and salt. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. The masala will be nice and thick now. Check for salt and adjust as needed.
6. Add warm water, mix and add in shrimp. Cook for 5-6 minutes, or until shrimp is cooked all the way.
7. Add in lemon juice and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Notes

Serve hot as an appetizer or with flaky parathas, rotis or basmati rice.

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