It’s a mist-laced January morning.
One of those languorous days when indulging in laziness is not a sin.
The community is just beginning to wake up.
The soulful strains of Vishnu Sahasranamam waft from an apartment above.
A pressure cooker shrieks somewhere. Punctuating the morning calm.
A yellow school bus trundles past, belching a nauseous cloud of fumes.
S and I are sipping our Dilmah tea in the garden. Gift from a friend who has just returned from the magical island of Sri Lanka.
We discuss our many trips to the island country – the hustle bustle of Colombo, the history-riddled verandahs of Galle Face Hotel, (ancient fans whirring above and liveried butlers in rapt attention to cater to your every need), the mystical sunsets of Bentota, the colonial magnificence of Galle, riding with the waves and whales in Mirissa, the turquoise blue allure of Trinco, the painted kovils of Jaffna …
And this is when the discussion veers to Sinhalese food.
Egg hoppers with a smorgasbord of sambols.
The eclectic diversity of curries.
Ministry of Crab.
The sensuous smoky sticky sweetness of kithul treacle poured generously over fresh curd.
Or the sinful temptation of a home-made watalappam.
But the man has a firm favourite.
So much so that when we were in Colombo on my first visit, he had insisted that we visit his favourite haunt in the city to savour Sinhalese devilled prawns.
The humble dish of fresh ocean prawns cooked with oodles of love with an abundance of caramelised onions and fiery chillies had taken no effort to win my heart over and make me a fan girl.
You should do devilled prawns for your blog, S quipped before heading to brew another cup of tea.
And that’s the genesis of this post.
If you adore your prawns as much as I do, do give my Sinhalese Devilled Prawns a try.
Sinhalese Devilled Prawn
Ingredients
- 10-12 medium sized prawns (with head and tail), deveined
- 2 onions cut into thin slices
- 1 red bell pepper cut into cubes
- 1 capsicum cut into cubes
- 1 tsp ginger finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger julienned
- 1 tsp garlic finely chopped
- 2 tbsp spring onions cut into half inch pieces
- 4-5 green chillies chopped
- 8-10 curry leaves
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 2 tsp red chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/3 cup coconut milk
- 5 tbsp oil
For Curry Powder
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Instructions
- Marinate the prawns with a little turmeric powder and salt.
- Heat oil in a pan, sauté the prawns over high heat for 3-4 minutes. Take them out in a bowl. Keep aside.
- Into the same oil, throw in the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Allow them to splutter.
- Add the sliced onions, fry till lightly browned.
- Add the ginger and garlic, stir fry for a further 2 minutes.
- Add the green and red bell pepper, geeen chillies and tomatoes. Sauté for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce, red chilli flakes, turmeric powder, half the curry powder, red chilli powder and the sautéed prawns .
- Season with salt, cook over high heat for 5-6 minutes .
- Pour in the coconut milk, cover and cook over medium low heat for another 5 minutes.
- Add a generous sprinkle of the julienned ginger, spring onions and remaining curry powder. Give it all a hearty mix. Switch off the flame. Serve hot.
For Curry Powder
- Dry roast all the ingredients until you get a beautiful aroma. Allow the spices to cool to room temperature. Grind to a fine powder. Store in a air tight container.
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