Recipe For March

Prawn Caldine

This is one of the best prawn dishes I have ever eaten. I believe it originated either in India or the West Indies.

The recipe serves 4
400g (1 ¼lb) headless raw prawns
2 tablespoons coconut vinegar or
white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons white poppy seeds or ground almonds
4 tablespoons groundnut oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, cut into slivers
2.5cm (1 inch) fresh root ginger, finely chopped
400ml (14fl oz) coconut milk
150ml (5fl oz) water
5 mild green finger chillies, halved, seeded and cut into long, thin shreds
2 tablespoons chopped coriander Salt

Method.
Peel the prawns, leaving the last tail segment in place (if desired). Mix the prawns with the vinegar and ½ teaspoon of salt and leave for 5 minutes or so. This enhances the flavour. Meanwhile, put the turmeric powder, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and white poppy seeds, (if using,) into a spice grinder or Pestle and Mortar and grind to a fine powder.
Heat the oil in a medium-sized pan. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry gently for 5 minutes. Stir in the ground spices and fry for 2 minutes. Add the ground almonds if you aren't using poppy seeds, plus the coconut milk, water, three-quarters of the sliced chillies and ½ teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the prawns and simmer for only 3-4 minutes so they don't overcook. Stir in the rest of the sliced chillies and the coriander and serve with some Steamed Basmati Rice.

Some people are allergic to shellfish so as an alternative you could use goujons of fish like Brill or John Dory.