Malaysian Curried Prawns Recipes

Steps:

• Finely grate the coconut, then toast slowly in a wok, stirring until evenly dark brown (it will start to smell very strong, but it will work a treat). While it's still warm, pound to a paste with the sunflower oil using a pestle and mortar. Set aside.
• Finely grate or pound the ginger and garlic together using a pestle and mortar. Make a loose curry paste by adding 75ml water to the curry powder. Heat the oil in the wok until it's just starting to smoke, then throw in the curry leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom pods and cloves and cook for 1 min until fragrant.
• Add the shallots and ginger and garlic paste, cook for around 7 mins until softened and starting to brown, then add the curry powder paste. This is the most important part of making the curry. Ideally, cook over a very low heat and wait until the oil separates and bubbles over the paste, around 10-12 mins. Scrape the bottom of the pan occasionally to remove the crust.
• When the oil has come to the top, add the tamarind paste, pineapple and sugar. Pour in the coconut milk. When the mixture starts boiling, add the prawns and return to the boil, then stir through the toasted coconut. Season the curry with salt, scatter over the coriander and serve with rice.

Steps:

• Finely grind coriander, cumin, and peppercorns in a coffee or spice grinder; transfer to a bowl. Stir in paprika, cayenne, and turmeric. Process ginger, garlic, and 1/4 cup water in a food processor until smooth; stir into spices.
• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add spice paste; cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add 1 1/4 cups water; bring to a simmer.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; simmer 10 minutes. Uncover. Stir in coconut milk, salt, and tamarind. Simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes.
• Stir in the shrimp and basil, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are cooked through, about 8 minutes. Serve immediately over rice.

Steps:

• Prepare the fresh garam masala: in a coffee grinder, grind the cardamom seeds, 3 whole cloves, and 3 cinnamon sticks to a fine powder. Set aside.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the 4 whole cloves, 4 cardamom pods, and 2 sticks of cinnamon and fry for a few seconds (take care as cloves tend to pop out of the pan). Stir in the grated onion and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook and stir until the liquid dries and the onion no longer smells raw, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger paste and garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Stir in the turmeric and cayenne pepper. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are soft, about 5 minutes. Pour in the water, cover the pan, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
• Pour in the coconut milk and stir well. When the mixture is just below boiling, stir in the prawns. Sprinkle the mixture with almost all of the fresh garam masala powder, reserving a pinch to use as a garnish. Gently stir to combine. Do not cover the pan at this stage, as the coconut milk will curdle.
• As soon as the prawns are pink and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes, add the ghee. Remove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle the reserved garam masala over the dish and serve.