Prawn and Potato Curry
This Prawn and Potato Curry is packed with flavour and it’s a very quick dish to prepare.
Perfect for a weeknight dinner but you can also Wow your guests with this delicious curry.
Prawn and Potato Curry
I guess if you do not live in South Africa my recipes seem strange. It doesn’t taste anything like authentic Indian cooking.
The reason for this that South Africans have their own unique way of cooking. It is different to the way dishes are prepared in India.
There may be similarities but you can tell it’s a South African dish.
Cooking the Prawn and Potato Curry
I cooked this curry very simply, in typical Durban fashion. It also took just over 30 minutes to cook.
Preparation also doesn’t take too long. I think it’s a fairly easy dish to cook and it tastes amazing too.
How to serve the curry
Roti is always the go to side for most curries. It’s a definite must to mop up all that delicious sauce in this Prawn and Potato Curry.
However, you can serve it with rice or Naan and it’s also great in a bunny chow. It’s exactly how my hubby ate it.
Masala
For this Curry I used my own masala, which is a blend of spices.
Again, here in South Africa we have a blend of spices called a masala. The base consists of chilli powder and other spices are added to it.
It is very different to garam masala. Garam masala is used as a garnish and it is added once the dish is cooked. Although here in SA we add the garam masala together with our other spices.
Masala is also added with your other spices when cooking an Indian dish.
If you don’t have masala you just use chilli powder but you will need to adjust the quantity according to your taste.
I have cooked this curry like you would any South African curry, it’s spicy and a little rustic.
I added a little tamarind for a hint of tanginess. You can adjust the amount or leave it out completely if you’re not a fan of tamarind.
If you do try this Prawn and Potato Curry recipe please drop me a comment and leave a star rating, it is always appreciated.
More delicious Recipes to try:
First Published – September, 25 2020. Updated – May 19, 2025
Prawn and Potato Curry
Ingredients
Prawn Marinade
- 500 gram prawn meat
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
Curry
- 4 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 small potatoes cut into fours
- 2 pieces cinnamon sticks
- 2 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon ginger/garlic paste
- 2 small roma tomatoes skin removed and blended
- 1 sprig curry leaf
- 2 green chillies slit in half
- 1 tablespoon masala
- 1/2 teaspoon ground soomph/fennel
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon tamarind see notes
- 1 cup hot water
- salt
Instructions
- Remove the shells from the prawns. Rub in some coarse salt and rinse well, a few times. Squeeze out all the excess water or use paper towels to pat them as dry as possible. Marinate the prawns with the chilli powder, garlic, cumin and salt. Refrigerate the prawns for 30 minutes
- Heat 2 tablespoon oil and fry the prawns, preferrably in 2 batches, about 20 seconds on each side. Do not over fry them. It's ok if undercooked, it will cook further in the sauce
- In the same pot add another 2 tablespoon oil. Add the cinnamon stick, bay leaf, mustard seeds and fennel seeds. Fry until fragrant and the seeds start to splutter. Add the onion, curry leaf and chillies and fry until the onion is golden brown
- Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the blended tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the masala, turmeric, garam masala, cumin, coriander and fennel. Add a little water. Cook for a further 2 minutes
- Add the potatoes and mix well. Season with salt. Cook for 1 minute. Mix the tamarind into the hot water and strain into the dish. Depending on altitude you may require less or more than a cup of water. Allow the curry to simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add the cooked prawns once the potatoes are completely cooked. Bring to a quick boil for 2 minutes and turn the heat off.
- Garnish with coriander and serve hot
Notes
- If you are short on time you can cook your potatoes in the microwave for a few minutes before adding it to the curry
- The amount of water could vary, if you are living on the coast where potatoes tend to cook faster you may require less water. I suggest starting with a half cup of water and adding more if required
- The amount of tamarind I used is not over powering and if you don't like tamarind you can totally leave it out. You can also adjust the amount of tamarind according to your taste.
- My prawns weighed 500 gram after the shell was removed so you may need to purchase about 800 grams of prawns with the shell to reach 500 gram.
- I fry my prawns in the same pot as I cook the curry because it really does elevate the flavour and adds that extra dimension to a seafood curry
- If you don't have masala you can omit it and add a little extra chilli powder, maybe start with a teaspoon and add more as required
Can’t wait to try this recipe 🙂
Thank you Jana. Hope you enjoy it:-)