Prawn Moilee - Epicurious
This is Naved’s special dish at Dishoom Covent Garden. It’s a light, fragrant and utterly delicious south-Indian-style curry, packed with juicy prawns and tempered with coconut milk. Although it looks impressive, it is actually very easy to make, so you can serve it either as a week-night supper or as an indulgent dinner. We serve it with idiyappam, the white, lacy noodle pancakes, also known as string hoppers. If you can’t get these, it goes just as well with steamed rice.
Ingredients
6 green chilies
55ml vegetable oil
2 tsp. mustard seeds
30 fresh curry leaves
300g Spanish white onions, sliced
15g garlic paste
15g ginger paste
2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
25 g fresh ginger, cut into matchsticks
400 ml coconut milk
250 ml coconut cream
24 large prawns
300g medium tomatoes, cut into small, bite-sized wedges
Lemon wedges, for serving
Remove and discard stalks from chillies then slice into 3-4 long strips. Set aside
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add 40ml of oil and let warm for a few seconds. Add the mustard seeds and 20 curry leaves and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the onions and sauce for 12-14 minutes until soft.
Add garlic and ginger pastes, salt, black pepper and tumeric and sauce for 3 minutes. Add sliced chilies and ginger matchsticks and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Add coconut milk and cream and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the curry is simmering, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Toss in the rest of the curry leaves and fry until crisp, about 1 minute. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
Add the prawns and tomatoes to the sauce and simmer for an additional 5-6 minutes until the prawns are cooked, be careful not to overcook.
Serve over rice and topped with fried curry leaves with lemon wedges on the side.
Recipe credit: Epicurious