Gongura Prawns (Andhra style Prawns Curry cooked with tangy Sorrel Leaves)

 

          Gongura Prawns curry is a traditional and a very popular Andhra cuisine that goes by the name of Gongura Royyalu Kura. In this recipe, prawns are cooked along with gongura leaves. Gongura is also known as sorrel leaves, chukka or ambada bhaji. This dish is very much a part of a meal served in Andhra / Telangana restaurants. 

          Coming to this amazing dish, it is both spicy and tangy. However, you can adjust it depending on your taste buds. It is a great party recipe too, perfect for special occasions. You can relish this yummy and finger licking delicacy with hot steamed rice, jeera rice, pulao, plain biryani, naan, tandoori roti, roomali roti or chapati. So check out a step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this regional dish.

• 250 gms. prawns, cleaned, deveined & rinsed
• handful of gongura leaves
• 3 tbsp. oil
• 1 dry red chili, broken
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 2 green cardamom
• 4 cloves
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. roasted coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp. roasted cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 cup water
• 2 green chilies
• 2 tbsp. coriander leaves, chopped

            In a pan, add the gongura leaves along with a sprinkle of some water. Cover and cook till it is wilted. Then mash them well with the back of a ladle and keep aside. 

           Marinate the prawns with a pinch of salt, turmeric powder and red chili powder for 10-15 minutes.

           Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a pan and fry the marinated prawns till light golden in color. Keep aside.

           Heat remaining oil and temper with dry red chili, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cinnamon stick, cardamom and cloves. Sauté for a few seconds.

           Now add the chopped onion and curry leaves. Sauté till light brown. 

           Add the ginger-garlic paste and all the dry spices mixed with some water. Sauté till the oil separates.

           Add the chopped tomatoes and cook till it turns soft. Now add the mashed gongura leaves and sauté for a minute. 

           Now add the fried prawns, followed by 1 cup water. Cover and simmer for 2-3 minutes. 

           Add the slit chilies and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes more. When done, garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy with steamed rice or any Indian flat bread.  

In a pan, add the gongura leaves along with a sprinkle of some water. Cover & cook till it is wilted.

        Then mash them well with the back of a ladle & keep aside. 

Marinate the prawns with a pinch of salt, turmeric powder & red chili powder for 10-15 minutes.

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a pan & fry the marinated prawns till light golden in color. Keep aside.

Heat remaining oil & temper with dry red chili, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cinnamon stick, cardamom & cloves. Sauté for a few seconds.

Now add the chopped onion & curry leaves. Sauté till light brown. 

Add the ginger-garlic paste & all the dry spices mixed with some water. Sauté till the oil separates.

                Add the chopped tomatoes & cook till it turns soft. 

             Add the mashed gongura leaves & sauté for a minute. 

                       Add the fried prawns,

         followed by 1 cup water. Cover & simmer for 2-3 minutes.

                Add the slit chilies & continue to cook for 1-2 minutes more. 

                 When done, garnish with coriander leaves.

                  Enjoy with steamed rice or any Indian flat bread. 

Bagara Prawns

 

           You must have heard of Mirchi Ka Salan and Bagara Baingan, the two signature dishes of Hyderabad. So come let me share a fusion recipe of Prawns, which is quite similar and has almost the same spices. The dominant ones are coconut, sesame seeds and peanuts. It is a very delectable side dish and the tanginess from the tamarind makes it even more lip smacking and yummy. 

          

          The gravy is extremely delicious and has a spicy and tangy flavor. It is best enjoyed with steamed rice, jeera rice, pulao, plain biryani, naan or tandoori roti. In fact they go extremely well with any form of rice or Indian bread. Prawn lovers, like me, will simply love this yummy preparation and is a must try.

• 8-10 Prawns, cleaned & washed well
• 3 tbsp. oil
• 2 tbsp. peanuts
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp. fresh grated coconut
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 sprigs curry leaves
• 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• 1 tbsp. roasted coriander powder
• 1 tsp. roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp. tamarind paste
• 1-2 tsp. mustard oil to garnish
• 1 tsp. coriander leaves, chopped

          Marinate the prawns with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder for 5-10 minutes. 

          Heat 1 tbsp. oil and fry the prawns till light brown. Drain and keep aside.

          Dry roast coconut, sesame seeds and peanuts till golden in color. Cool and grind into a powder. Keep aside.

          Heat remaining oil and sauté the onion and curry leaves till light brown. 

          Add the ginger-garlic paste and all the dry spices mixed with some water. Sauté  till the oil separates. 

          Add the ground spice paste and fry on a low flame till well combined.

          Add 1 cup water and bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes on a low to medium flame or till the gravy slightly reduces.

          Now add the tamarind paste mixed with 1/2 - 3/4 cup water. Cover and simmer further for 2-3 minutes more. 

          Finally add the fried prawns and cook for 2 minutes When done, switch off the flame and add chopped coriander leaves. Keep it covered for 2-3 minutes. 

          Serve with hot steamed rice, jeera rice, pulao, plain biryani, naan or tandoori roti for a sumptuous meal. 

Aam Kasundi Chingri Bhapa (Steamed Mango Mustard Prawn Curry - Bong style)

 

          Check out this traditional & an irresistible Bong delicacy of Prawns delicately steam cooked in a yummy raw mango-kasundi gravy. My all time favorite, this dish is a total amalgamation of the pungency from the bottled mustard paste, the tanginess from the raw mango and the heat from the green chilies. 

          This ridiculously simple and easy to cook dish is a very good option for a nice weekend comfort meal. Drizzle some extra mustard oil if you wish and enjoy it with hot steamed rice. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this classic treat.

          I always opt for this simple recipe whenever I need something quick as prawns being my favorite, does not take too long to cook. 

         All that you need to do, is to mix together a few ingredients along with the prawns and then steam it. Voila!! the dish is ready. 

          This is an absolutely quick fix weekend lunch for your entire family. In fact, it is a great party recipe when you have guests around.

          Hilsa fish, a very popular and yet another delicacy of all Bengalis is also cooked in the similar way. However, you may try with Pomfret or Bhetki too. 

          If kasundi is unavailable, then go ahead and ground 1 tbsp. mustard seeds along with 2 green chilies and salt to taste and proceed with the recipe. So Happy Cooking!!!

• 10-12 medium size prawns, cleaned, deveined and rinsed well
• 2-3 tbsp. kasundi (bottled mustard paste)
• 2-3 tbsp. raw mango paste
• 2 green chilies, chopped
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. mustard oil
• 2 tbsp. coriander leaves, chopped
• 2 green chilies (opt)

          In a bowl, mix all the above mentioned ingredients along with the prawns. 

          Transfer the contents to a steel container with a lid. Place 2 green chilies on the top if you wish. 

          Pour some water in a pan and place a stand over it. Place the closed steel container over it. 

          Cover the pan and steam cook for 12-15 minutes. When it cools down a little, open the lid.

          While serving, drizzle some extra mustard oil if you wish and serve with hot steamed rice. 

In a bowl, mix all the above mentioned ingredients along with the prawns.

Transfer the contents to a steel container with a lid. Place 2 green chilies on the top if you wish. Pour some water in a pan & place a stand over it. Place the closed steel container over it. 

                  Cover the pan & steam cook for 12-15 minutes.

                     When it cools down a little, open the lid.

While serving, drizzle some extra mustard oil if you wish & serve with hot steamed rice. 

Thai Tom Yum Prawn Noodle Soup

 

                  Tom Yum is a traditional Thai clear soup which has all the flavours - spicy sweet and sour. It is simply delicious, spicy and mouth watering. The prawns and mushrooms brings out the true flavor. Prawns can also be substituted with boiled and shredded chicken. For a more wholesome dish, I also added some noodles. It is a complete meal in itself and a bowl of this appetizing soup gives complete satisfaction. 

           

                   This is a Thai street food which is found all over the country. It has become very popular here now and can be found in many restaurants and eating joints. This is an instant version where I made use of store bought tom yum paste. So when time is a restraint, this is a perfect one pot comfort meal to lift up your spirits. It is almost like a South Indian rasam. 

• 1/2 litre water
• 2-3 tbsp. tom yum paste
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 green chilies
• 1 tomato, cubed
• 1 onion, cubed
• 1 cup Shimeji mushroom
• 8-10 prawns / shrimps, cleaned & deveined
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 2-3 tbsp. spring onion (both white & green part)
• 1 tsp. coriander leaves to garnish
• lemon slices to garnish
• 1-2 boiled eggs, sliced into half
• 2-3 dumplings (opt)

          Bring the water to a boil. Then add the tom yum paste, sugar and red chili powder. Simmer on a low flame for 4-5 minutes.

          Then add the prawns, mushroom, onion, tomato, milk, white part of the spring onion and green chilies. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.

          Ladle the soup into a serving dish and add lemon juice. Serve, garnished with chopped spring onion, coriander leaves, dumpling, lemon slices and boiled eggs.

Pui Shak Chingri Bora (Malabar Spinach & Prawn Pakora / Fritters - Bong style)

 

          These are simple Bengali homemade style pakoras made of Pui Shak or Malabar Spinach and prawns. For a veg. version, just omit the prawns. These crispy fritters are a great accompaniment to our normal dal-chawal or khichdi. You can also relish them as a rainy day tea time snack or as an appetizer with kasundi (bottled mustard sauce) or any chutney. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare these amazing pakoras.

          Bengalis generally make a curry of these creepers with pumpkin, eggplants, potato, broad beans, etc. Like other greens, Pui Shak too, has a lot of health benefits in the form of vitamin, calcium, protein, iron and fibre. 

           It is cooked with bori (dried lentil dumplings) for the veg. version and prawns / fish head for the non-veg. version. However, pakoras made with them also tastes yummy too. So do give it a try and enjoy them on a rainy day or on a chilled winter night. It is so comforting. 

• 2-3 cups Pui Shak, washed, drained & finely chopped
• 8-10 prawns, deveined, cleaned & rinsed well
• 2-3 green chilies
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 1 onion, chopped
• salt to taste
• 3-4 tbsp. gram flour
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp. nigella seeds
• oil to deep fry

          In a bowl, add a pinch of salt to the chopped pui shak and marinate for 5-10 minutes. Then mash well.

          Pound the prawns, garlic and green chilies coarsely. Add to the Pui Shak and along with the  remaining ingredients (except oil). Sprinkle water accordingly. Cover and keep aside for 5 minutes.

 

          Wet your hands and take a little portion of the batter and form into equal size pakoras and keep them ready to be deep fried.

          Heat oil in a pan / kadai. Gently drop the pakoras in the hot oil. Fry on a low flame on both sides till golden in color.

    

          Drain on a kitchen towel and serve them hot as a tea time snack, as an appetizer with kasundi / green chutney or as a side dish with dal-chawal or khichdi.

                       In a bowl, add a pinch of salt to the chopped pui shak & marinate for

                       5-10 minutes. Then mash well.

                       Pound the prawns, garlic & green chilies coarsely. Add to the Pui Shak 

                       along with the remaining ingredients (except oil). Sprinkle water accordingly. 

                                  Cover and keep aside for 5 minutes.

                      Wet your hands. Take a little portion of the batter & form into equal

                      size pakoras and keep them ready to be deep fried.

                         Heat oil in a pan / kadai. Gently drop the pakoras in the hot oil. Fry 

                         on a low flame on both sides till golden in colour.

  

                                  Drain on a kitchen towel.

                    Serve them hot as a tea time snack, as an appetizer with kasundi / green 

                    chutney or as a side dish with dal-chawal,