Anoma’s prawn curry
Place a wok on a high heat and add the coconut oil. Once sizzling, flash-fry your prawns for 1-2 minutes until coloured nicely. This extra cooking stage will give the finished dish a deeper flavour.
Add all the remaining ingredients except the coconut milk and lime juice to the wok and stir together thoroughly, ensuring the prawns are evenly coated. Cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes.
Add the coconut milk (and prawn extract, if using – see below) and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes, or until the oil starts to separate.
Take off the heat, allow to cool slightly, add in the lime juice and stir to combine. Season to taste and finish with a handful of coriander leaves, if using, then serve.
I tend to leave the prawns intact but you can add extra flavour to this dish by de-heading and peeling the prawns after flash frying them and making what is known as prawn extract. Simply slow roast the prawn heads and tails, then crush them up into a powder. Prawn extract can also be stored in an airtight container for up to three months and added to any fish curry to enhance its flavour.
3 tbsp coconut oil 20-25 large raw unshelled prawns
½ tsp black mustard seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp roasted fenugreek seeds
1 sprig fresh curry leaves
- tsp roasted curry powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ cinnamon stick 10cm piece rampe (pandan leaf)
5-6 fresh green chillies (roughly chopped)
- fresh tomatoes (diced) 2 x 400ml tins of coconut milk
juice of ¾ of a lime 1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper a handful of fresh
PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 20 MINUTES
SPICE RATING: 2/5
SERVES 4