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.
If you’d like to prepare the dish in advance, make the sauce (up to and including step 5), chill and refrigerate, then reheat and continue from step 6 just before serving.
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Remove and discard the stalks from the chillies, then slice each one into 3 or 4 long strips. Set to one side.
Step 2
Place a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add 40ml of the oil, let it warm for a few seconds, then add the mustard seeds and 20 curry leaves. Let them crackle for a few seconds.
Step 3
Add the onions and sauté lightly for 12–14 minutes, until soft but not coloured.
Step 4
Add the garlic and ginger pastes, salt, black pepper and turmeric and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the sliced chillies and ginger matchsticks and cook for 3 minutes.
Step 5
Pour in the coconut milk and cream and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 6
While the curry is simmering, place a small frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 tbsp oil. Toss in the rest of the curry leaves and fry for 1 minute, until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
Step 7
Add the prawns and tomatoes to the sauce and simmer gently for a further 5–6 minutes, until the prawns are cooked; do not overcook or they will be tough.
Step 8
Serve scattered with the fried curry leaves, with lemon wedges on the side.
Recipe notes
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