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Prawn and Potato Curry in a black pot
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Prawn and Potato Curry

This curry is cooked the South African way and I promise you will want to make it over and over again
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: South African
Keyword: indian food, prawn and potato curry, prawn curry, south african curry
Servings: 7

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

  1. If you are short on time you can cook your potatoes in the microwave for a few minutes before adding it to the curry
  2. 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
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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
  6. 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