Goan prawn curry - a creamy, juicy, spicy, rich prawn recipe with delicious coconut flavour. A classic coconut prawn curry recipe made with prawns or shrimps.
Serve it with steamed rice or Goan pav for a delicious meal, especially when you love prawn recipes. You can also make it vegetarian and vegan with cauliflower, chickpeas or tofu.
Authentic Goan prawn curry needs patience to freshly ground masala. Mr MTC loves prawn in all forms, curry, rice, pasta, prawns are his favourite choice to add. So I always keep working on easy prawn recipes to make for him (read that as short notice as 20 minutes :D) Now you know the secret behind this 20minutes recipe section on the blog. Also the recipes like Prawn makhani Masala
While he loves his prawn masala curry or Bengali Chingri malai curry but Goan prawn curry tops the list always. I know nothing like a glass of beer with fresh steaming bowl of prawns and some pav to dip on a Goan beach. But! cut to Real life, Coconut prawn curry with steamed rice and a glass of red wine in the home is not bad either 😀
This coconut prawn masala with a bowl of steamed rice is truly a soul satisfying meal. The juicy and soft prawns, flavourful Indian spices, pleasantly sour tamarind pulp, creamy and rich coconut milk make a glorious combo for a taste buds. A complete flavour bomb in every bite. The prawn curry recipe perfect for a dinner party as well as a comforting weeknight dinner.
The coconut prawn curry is known as “Ambot tik” in Goa. Ambot means 'sour' and Tik means 'hot and spicy'. This Goan name of prawn curry truly justifies the taste of the recipe. After all, Indian curries can rarely be complete without rich Indian spices. This tastes best with fresh ground spices. However, I took a quick route this time and made it with freshly ground spice powders.
One rule I follow for my spice powders though I grind them in small quantities and mostly consume them in 15 days. With this shrimp curry recipe, the curry comes together in 25-30 minutes, but I promise you the time you will spend on making the curry are so worth it! The coconut milk I use for making the coconut gravy base for the curry is thick coconut milk.
In this prawn curry, I used super large frozen prawns which are already cleaned and deveined. All you need is open a pack and keep them soaked in normal water for 10 Minutes. So, just before you put the pan on the stove for making curry, soak the frozen prawns and by the time your gravy is ready prawns will be thawed.
To make the coconut flavour intense. I have used cold pressed organic coconut oil, which lends nutty sweet taste and intense coconut aroma in the prawn curry. In Goa, you can get to enjoy this unique dish at festive occasions, parties, restaurants and some home stays. Prawn curries are usually common in coastal regions.
Taste is pretty good, I can say this because I have tasted the same coconut curry with Tofu. Yes! that is a thing for vegetarians. We can make a vegetarian version of anything with Tofu or even paneer. So I know if you love prawns, the prawn curry tastes pretty awesome too. It is packed with healthy flavours. Prawns are a great choice to indulge in a protein-rich meal and the creamy and nutty coconut milk is highly nutritious, rich in fibre, vitamins, and minerals. It's a great dish to indulge in a healthy and flavoursome meal.
Fresh Prawns Vs Frozen Prawns
You can choose as per your choice and convenience, nothing like fresh prawns but if you know frozen prawns are processed nicely they taste good too. But the most important step here is proper cleaning of the prawns and the storage after freezing them.
How long to cook prawns
Undercooking or overcooking both can change the taste of prawns. Overcooking by 1-2 minutes can easily make them rubbery. So cook them for 5-6 minutes and then check if more cooking is required.
Is it safe to cook prawns from frozen?
Prawns are safe to cook them in a frozen state, but there is a risk of uneven cooking. I suggest a rapid defrost for prawns if you want to defort them quickly. I always soak the frozen prawn in cold water for 10minutes and change the water 2-3 times. This way you can thaw the prawns fairly quickly.
Best Tips to make a Perfect Prawn curry
- Cleaning prawns by deveining is a very important step as eating prawns without deveining causes severe health issues.
- Make sure to devein prawns properly before making any prawn recipe.
- Do not overcook the prawns as they turn rubbery very easily. Evenly cooking will ensure you soft and juicy prawns.
- You can even use frozen prawns for your prawn recipe. Just thaw them for 15 minutes before cooking frozen prawns.
- In case, you like more coconut flavour in your dish, you can also use grounded coconut paste in the coconut milk and spices mixture.
I hope to see you trying, this super flavourful Goan coconut prawn curry and indulge in a juicy, spicy, tangy and rich meal to please your taste buds. Do share with me in the comments how it turned out for you if you tried this recipe Or any feedback.
Watch How to make Goan Prawn Curry
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 grams super sized prawns cleaned and deveined
- 50 grams chopped onions
- 75 grams chopped tomatoes
- 8-10 curry leaves
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder haldi
- 1.5 teaspoon coriander powder dhaniya powder
- 2 teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder bhuna jeera powder
- 1 tablespoon tamarind pulp
- 150 ml coconut milk
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
Instructions
- Take a bowl. Add haldi, coriander powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, black pepper powder, tamarind pulp and coconut milk in the bowl. Make a mixture and keep it aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a pan.
- Add chopped ginger and chopped onions. Saute them.
- Add 8-10 curry leaves. Cook them till the onion turns light brown.
- Add chopped tomatoes. Cook them till they turn soft and pulpy.
- Now add the coconut milk and spices mixture into the pan. Mix them well and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add salt to taste. Mix it well.
- Now, add cleaned and deveined super sized prawns. Mix them well.
- Reduce the heat and cook the prawns for 7-8 minutes.
- Add coconut milk if required to adjust the consistency of the gravy.
- Now, the goan coconut prawn curry is ready to serve. Enjoy it with rice or chapati.
- So, doesn’t this make a mouth-watering lunch or dinner. A delightful dish for all the seafood lovers !!
- Do try this for a yummy non-veg meal time and give your taste buds a tangy, juicy, creamy and spicy kick.
Hina
I love prawn curry to the core. And this looks truly delish.
Donella Coutinho
Hi Rekha, my name is Donella. This recipe looks absolutely delicious. Please do check out my blog post on foodielogs.com of goan prawn curry as well. This is one we make often at home. Thank you so much
Sunita
Coconut Prawn Curry is completely different to Ambot -Tik Curry. You can make Ambot Tik with prawns, but it has no traces of coconut.