Chettinad Prawn Masala / Chettinad Eral Masala

Whenever I love to try some thing new with non veg, I preferably look for chettinad recipes which is famous for non veg recipes. I would say no south indian non veg restaurant exist without chettinad recipes. I like the blend of different spices though have never tasted. It is flavorful and gives a sense of homely food. This is one such recipe.. 

Recipe Source: Solai's True chettinad kitchen

Ingredients:

Prawns 450g
Pearl Onions 10
Garlic Cloves 5
Cinnamon sticks
Cloves 3

For Marination:

Ginger Garlic Paste 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder 1 tsp
Juice from Half Lemon
Salt

Preparation:

Clean the prawns. In a bowl, combine the prawns and all the other ingredients for marination. Keep it aside for half an hour.

Method:

Chop Pearl Onions and Garlic. Chop Tomato into very fine pieces.

Heat oil in a Pan. Add cloves, cinnamon sticks. When they start changing their color, add the chopped onions and garlic. Fry till the onions turn translucent.

Now add the chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Fry till its skin peels and the oil separates.

Now add the marinated prawns. Mix well and cook covered till 8-10 minutes and until done. Need not add water as prawns oozes out water while cooking and that is sufficient enough for its cooking.

Serves: 1-2
Serve with steamed rice and non veg curry or Idli/Dosa.

Prawn Curry / Eraal Kuzhambu

I have this love and hate relationship in cooking non vegetarian food. I love it because I can experiment more; sky is the limit as I am not going to taste it. ;-) I hate it because I've to cook another veg food for me. 

So whenever I am in a good mood, I would prefer cooking non veg and the simplest of them is prawns. They cook easily and as I use store bought cleaned & deveined prawns, so my cooking gets complete in no time.

I always use coconut powder or just coconut flakes to thicken any gravy. This recipe uses rice powder for thickening. My Hus said he didn't find any difference. But this is a good alternative whenever coconut goes out of stock. She has used freshly ground mixture of spices and rice, but I used all store bought spice powders as they are all sitting in my pantry for long days. I need to finish them off before I leave to India for my vacation next month. Thanks Uma for this recipe.

Recipe Source: My Kitchen Experiments

Ingredients:

Prawn (deveined) 500g
Onion 1 / Pearl Onions 1/2 cup
Tomatoes - small-3
Ginger Garlic Paste
Chilly Powder 1/2tsp
Coriander Powder 1 tsp
Cumin Powder 1/8 tsp
Garam Masala 1/8 tsp
Fennel seeds Powder 1/8 tsp
Rice Powder 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder 
Salt
Water
Oil

To temper:

Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
Aniseeds 1/2 tsp
Bay leaves2
Cloves 2
Cinnamon a small stick

Preparation:

Chop Onions and tomatoes. Grind tomatoes to a smooth paste. Clean prawns. Marinate the prawns with little Chilli powder, salt and turmeric powder for at least 20 minutes.

Method:

Heat Oil in a Pan, add all ingredients listed under "to temper". When they turn slightly brown, add ginger garlic paste and chopped onions. When onions turn translucent, add the ground tomato paste. 

Fry till the oil separates and now add in all the masala powders. Fry for a while until the masala is well combined with the mixture. Now add the Rice powder and water. When the water starts boiling well, add the marinated prawns. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes or till done.

Serves: 2
Serve with hot steamed rice or any flat bread.