Prawns (Shrimp) Chilly fry

I happened across a recipe for prawns chilly fry on the Kerala tourism website. I was a bit confused after reading the recipe but decided to try it anyways. I experimented with the recipe and derived one that seemed good for our tastes. I should say that I was very pleased with the result. I ended up with a pretty HOT chilly prawns (even by Indian standards). The recipe below is my version with the exact amount of spices that I used. It would serve well for those with a bit of tolerance for spicy food. Others need not worry, just adjust the chillies to your tolerance level. I am pretty sure that you too will enjoy the adapted version of prawns chilly fry. Enjoy!

Recipe:

Prawns/Shrimp - 12 oz, shelled, deveined and tail-on (cooked)

Green chilli - 1, julienned

Garlic - 4 cloves, julienned

Ginger - 1/2 tbsp

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Red onion - 2 cups

Kashmiri chilli powder - 2 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

Salt - taste

Coconut oil - 4 tbsp

Water - 1/4 cup

Green chillies - 2, spilt lengthwise

Roma tomato - 1, sliced

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Garam masala - half a pinch

Method:

Wash the shrimp and drain.

Heat a skillet over medium heat.

To the prawns, add julienned green chillies, garlic, ginger, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp chilly powder, 1 tbsp coconut oil, salt and curry leaves.

Cook for about a minute. Keep aside.

Saute the onions in the remaining oil until light brown.

Add the remaining chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and saute for a few minutes, until the spices are cooked.

Stir often to prevent the spices from burning.

Pour the water and allow it come to a boil.

Saute well until most of the water is evaporated and the onions are tender.

Add the cooked shrimp, split green chillies, tomatoes and curry leaves.

Stir fry until well incorporated.

Shut off the flame, add lime juice and sprinkle garam masala.

Serve hot with rice.

Adapted from: Kerala tourism website

Tips:

1. I used vegetable oil instead of coconut oil. For the authentic kerala taste, use coconut oil.
2. Use curry leaves, if available. If not, omit that.
3. The above recipe makes a HOT prawn chilly fry. Adjust the amount of green chillies and/or chilli powder according to personal preference.
4. A suggestion is to reduce heat is to omit the julienned green chillies, use 1 split chilly and reduce the amount of red chilly powder to 2 tsp.
5. The actual recipe called for 40g of prawns! I think its an error, it must be 400g. I found that the recipe works well for 12 oz of shrimp.
6. If using uncooked shrimp, add the raw shrimp to the onion gravy and cook until done.