Prawn Curry with Coconut Milk Recipe
(Curried Shrimp)
Curried prawns is a popular Sri Lankan dish that is enjoyed by many around the world. This dish is known for its rich and complex flavors, which are achieved through the use of a variety of spices and ingredients. The dish typically includes prawns, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and a range of curry spice such as cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chili powder. The history of curried prawns in Sri Lanka is closely tied to the country’s rich culinary traditions.
Sri Lanka has a long history of trading with other countries, which has influenced its cuisine over the years. The country’s location on the ancient Silk Road made it a hub for trade between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. As a result, Sri Lankan cuisine has been influenced by a variety of cultures, including Indian, Dutch, Portuguese, and British.
Curried prawns are believed to have originated in the southern coastal regions of Sri Lanka, where fresh seafood is abundant. The dish has since become popular throughout the country and is now a staple of Sri Lankan cuisine.
The dish is often served with rice or bread, and can be enjoyed as a main course or as a side dish. It is a versatile dish that can be adapted to suit different tastes and preferences, and can be made with a variety of different seafood or meat. Despite its popularity, curried prawns remains a relatively simple dish to prepare, it takes very little cooking time, and can be made with the most basic ingredients that are readily available in most kitchens.
How to Prepare Prawns for Cooking
I used medium-sized raw prawns (headless) with shells on in this recipe. To prepare them for cooking, wash them with water and season lightly with salt and pepper. Then cut the raw prawns into bite sized pieces. If you do not like shrimp shells, remove these and then wash and season the shrimp. I like to keep the shells since it retains more flavor on the shrimp, and cooked shrimp shells are perfectly okay to eat.
How to Cook Curried Prawns (the Short Version)
To create this prawn curry recipe, prawns are marinated in spices (turmeric, red chilli powder and salt). There are added to a pan with chopped vegetables, coconut milk and cooked on medium heat until prawns are fully cooked. The combination of spices and coconut milk results in a very flavorful and simple curry.
Reasons to Try to this Prawn Curry Recipe
1) Curry in under 30 minutes!
2) Easiest curry dish to cook
3) Prawns are a good source of proteins, and also promote heart and brain health
4) No oil needed for recipe!
What Ingredients do you need to cook Prawns in Coconut Milk?
To cook this easy recipe for curried prawns, you need the following ingredients (including curry spices) :
- Large prawns – Use any type!
- Curry leaves
- Garlic cloves
- Green chillies
- Red onion
- Tomato
- Tamarind paste
- Can of coconut milk
- Salt
- Chilli powder
- Turmeric powder
- Fenugreek seeds
- Cinnamon stick
Top tips and Tricks to Cook this Sri Lankan Prawn Curry in Coconut Milk
- I use Goya coconut milk, which is a light coconut milk (NOT full-fat coconut milk) in this recipe. Coconut cream can be used without diluting to get a thicker curry, or cooked with some water according to your preference. Coconut milk is usually diluted, so don’t add water to the curry if you use coconut milk
- The use of pre-cooked prawns are not recommended for this recipe, since it won’t absorb spice flavors like prawns.
- Ginger garlic paste is a good substitute to use in place of chopped garlic
- Substitutes for tamarind paste are : a piece of goraka, lemon juice or lime juice (1 tsp)
- In Sri Lankan cooking, there are food which increases or decreases body heat. Since shrimp is said to increase body heat, fenugreek seeds are added to reduce the effects of shrimp. Moringa leaves can also be added to reduce the body heat effects of shrimp.
- To drastically increase the spiciness of any curry, add habanero peppers (preferably just one chopped pepper) instead of green chillies.
- When cooking any coconut milk curry, it should be cooked until the curry boils. Not fully cooking the coconut milk can lead to stomach/digestion issues.
Side dishes to Serve with this Coconut Prawn Curry
In Sri Lankan cuisine, seafood curries are generally served on a bed of hot basmati rice, with vegetable curries and mallums. Other Sri Lankan side dishes you can serve with these curried prawns are:
Beetroot Curry – This is a sweet Sri Lankan curry, and will pair well with the coconut milk curried prawns
Eggplant Curry – This is a sweet and tangy Sri Lankan curry that will pair well with Shrimp
Fried potatoes – Any fried dish will pair well with the sweet coconut curried prawns
Mallum/Sambola – Any side dishes cooked with using shredded coconut will pair well with this seafood curry. Try these cabbage leaf mallum, gotu kola mallum or pol sambola dishes.
Shrimp spicy coconut curry
Ingredients
- 1/4 lb Shrimp fresh, cleaned
- 10 Curry leaves optional
- 2 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 Green chilli chopped
- 1/2 Red onion chopped
- 1/2 Tomato chopped
- 1/2 tsp Tamarind paste substitute with 1 tsp lemon juice or 1 goraka
- 1 cup Coconut milk Goya coconut milk
Seasoning
- 1.5 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Chilli powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric
Instructions
- Chop onions, garlic, green chillie and tomato
- Add all seasoning to shrimp and mix well
- Heat pan and add the seasoned shrimp, chopped vegetables and curry leaves
- Mix tamarind with coconut milk and add to pan
- Cook on medium heat for about 20 mins
Notes
- This recipe is moderately spicy. Please use less chilli powder if you do not like spicy foods.
- Serving suggestions with rice, bread, paratha, naan
How to make Curried Prawns in Coconut Milk (step by step with pictures)
Chop the red onions, green chillie, garlic and tomatoes into pieces
Add all seasonings (one tsp turmeric, one tbsp chilli powder, salt) to shrimp and mix well. Heat pan and add the seasoned shrimp, chopped vegetables, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds (2-3) and a one inch piece of cinnamon. Mix tamarind with one cup coconut milk and add to pan. If you do not have tamarind, add one tsp of lemon juice to the curry.
Cook this medium heat for about 20 mins until shrimp are cooked well (they change color to pink), and the coconut milk boils.
