Goan Prawn Curry With Raw Mango

Goan Dried Prawn Curry

Let’s make a flavourful, tangy, and medium hot Goan prawn curry with raw mango called Samarachi Kodi. Though made more often during the monsoons when fresh seafood is scarce, this flavourful Goan dried prawn curry is also prepared for a traditional Goan pre-wedding dinner called ‘bikrean jevonn’.

This Samarachi Curry or Kodi can also be made with a mix of dried and fresh prawns, but I’m going to make it with just dried prawns and raw mango slices that are traditionally thrown in to add a zing to it.

The fragrant prawn curry with raw mango tastes even better the next day, like most Goan curries. You could enjoy it with steamed rice or mop it up with some soft Goan pao or bread rolls.

If you’re wondering about the name of this curry, it is believed to have come from ‘samardem’, the name of a circular, wooden spice box that was a fixture in Goan kitchens once upon a time. It is also said that the tasty samarachi kodi curry used to be made with 21 different spices in the past! Today, we use just around half the original number.

This is a delicious seafood curry, much like the Goan Jeerem Meerem Fish Curry and the Prawn and Lady’s Finger Caldinho, two other Goan curries with a distinct taste of their own.

Ingredients

¾ cup dried prawns

1 medium-size raw mango

1 ½ cup grated fresh coconut

2 medium-size onions

A tiny ball of tamarind

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

6 cloves

½ tsp peppercorns

1 ½” cinnamon stick

3 green cardamom pods

¼ tsp fenugreek seeds

½ tsp mustard seeds

1″ piece ginger

6 garlic cloves

2 tsp regular chilli powder

(OR 3 – 4 Kashmiri chillies)

½ tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp sugar or grated jaggery

Salt to taste

3 tbsp oil

Procedure

1. Clean the dried prawns by pinching off the pointed part of the head, and then the legs and tail. Wash the cleaned prawns and soak them in a little warm water for around half an hour. Also soak the ball of tamarind for around the same time in a few tablespoons of warm water to extract tamarind pulp from it.
2. Next, peel the raw mango and slice the flesh into around two inch-long slices. The seed and the mango slices will be added to the curry.
3. Dry roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamom pods, fenugreek seeds, and mustard seeds on low heat for a few minutes.
4. Also dry roast the ½ cup of grated coconut till it starts browning and extract 1 ½ cups of coconut milk from the remaining 1 cup.
5. Add the roasted spices and coconut to a grinder jar along with the ginger, garlic, chilli powder, and turmeric powder. Grind all of these with a little water to a smooth paste. This will be the masala or curry paste we’ll use to make the curry.
6. Slice the onions lengthwise.
7. Heat the oil in a pot on medium heat. Sauté the sliced onions in it till they just start getting browned. Squeeze the excess water from the soaked prawns, add them to the oil, and sauté these as well for 2 – 3 minutes.
8. Then add in the masala and fry this for a couple of minutes. Stir in the raw mango pieces and ½ cup of water. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and let the curry simmer for around 10 – 12 minutes.
9. Stir in the tamarind extract and around ¾ tsp of salt and 2 tsp of sugar or grated jaggery. The sugar or jaggery will help balance all the flavours of the curry.
10. Finally, pour in the coconut milk.
11. Let the curry come to a gentle boil on medium-low heat, and then adjust the taste of the curry, if necessary, by adding in more salt, sugar, or chilli powder.
12. The flavourful Goan dried prawn curry or Samarachi Kodi will now be ready to be served.

P.S.: The curry will taste even better the next day!

Enjoy!