Super-tasty Goan Prawn Masala, Easy Recipe

How to make Goan Prawn Masala Fry

I’m so happy to share with you how I make delicious Goan prawn masala. This is one of my favourite prawn dishes. You have to taste it to see how incredibly flavourful this dish is. It’s somewhat like the Mangalorean prawn ghee roast which is cooked entirely with ghee.

Goan dishes being medium spicy, this one too isn’t fiery hot, though you could make it as spicy as you want by increasing the quantity of chillies or adding in some chilli powder. If you love seafood, this super-duper prawn dish could soon become your favourite too. You can’t go wrong with my recipe. So do give it a shot.

Goan prawn masala can be enjoyed with chapatis, bread, or steamed rice. But I love to have it with Goan polle, the soft and lacy Goan rice crepes or dosas. Want to learn how to make Goan polle? Do check out my easy recipe that has detailed tips for getting it right.

Ingredients

Prawn marination

30 – 35 prawns (Approx. 400 – 500 g)

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp ground pepper

2 tsp lemon juice

Masala paste

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

4 cloves

10 peppercorns

1 inch piece cinnamon

4 cashew nuts (optional)

7 Kashmiri chillies

6 garlic cloves

1 inch piece ginger

1 small ball of tamarind

2 tsp grated jaggery

1 tbsp vinegar

Other ingredients

2 ½ tbsp pure ghee

2 tbsp oil

8-10 curry leaves

½ cup finely chopped onion (1 medium-size onion)

3 tbsp tomato paste (1 medium-size tomato)

½ tsp salt, approx.

1 tsp vinegar

Procedure

1. Clean, de-vein and wash the prawns. Add the salt, ground pepper, turmeric powder, and lime juice to them. Mix well so all the prawns are well coated with the marinade. Cover and set aside for 20 minutes.
2. Break or cut each of the Kashmiri chillies into two or three pieces and soak them in a little hot water (around ¼ cup) for around ½ hour.
3. Soak the tamarind ball in 2-3 tsp hot water for around ½ hour.
4. Heat a pan on medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and dry roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, and cashew nuts for around 3 – 4 minutes. Remove to a plate and let them cool to room temperature.
5. To a grinder jar, add the roasted spices, the soaked chillies (save the chilli water for later use), garlic, ginger, ball of tamarind, grated jaggery, 1 tbsp of vinegar, and a little of the chilli water. Grind everything to a fine paste. Add the rest of the chilli water and also a little more water if necessary to get a smooth masala paste.
6. Heat the earlier pan again on medium heat, and to it, add 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp pure ghee. When these get heated, add the prawns to the pan in a single layer and cook them for around 1½ minutes. Turn them over and cook them on the other side too for 1½ minutes. Remove them to a plate. Transfer the small amount of liquid released by the prawns (while they were being fried) to a bowl.
7. To the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil and 1½ tbsp ghee and let these heat with the flame on medium. Then add in the chopped onion and fry this till it browns.
8. Next, add in the masala paste and roast this for around 3 – 4 minutes. Mix in the tomato paste, the rinsings of the grinder jar, and the liquid released by the prawns. Stir everything well and let the masala cook for 1 – 2 minutes.
9. Add in the fried prawns and curry leaves and stir well so that the prawns are mixed nicely with the masala. Let the prawns cook in the masala for around 2 minutes.
10. Taste the masala. Adjust the taste by adding more seasonings if necessary. I needed to add a little less than ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp of vinegar. Mix everything and after a few seconds turn off the heat.
11. The prawn masala can be eaten with Goan polle (soft and lacy Goan rice dosas), chapati, bread, or steamed rice.

Enjoy!