Anything tastes good with a generous helping of grated coconut :)
Here is one really good side dish with authentic Konkani flavors - one of my favorites.

Method

1. Place 500 gms of cleaned prawns  in a bowl, add salt, pinch of turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder and 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and mix well. Let them marinate for 1 hour if possible.
2. Take a dry pan and heat it. When the pan is hot, add 2tsp coriander seeds, a pinch of fenugreek seeds and 4 to 5 dry red chillies and dry roast it till fragrant. Let it cool and then blend it in the mixer with 1 marble sized piece of tamarind and 2-3 tsp of grated coconut and some water to a coarse paste. Keep aside
3. In another non stick pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil (coconut oil will give it additional flavor). Add 1 tsp of mustard seeds and when they splutter add a handful of curry leaves. 
4. Add 2 finely chopped onions to the pan and saute them till translucent. 
5. Add 1tsp each of finely chopped ginger and garlic and saute it well.
6. Add the masala paste and saute well. Add the prawns and coat it well in the masala. Add some water if needed and Let it cook for 10-15 mins or till cooked.
7. Adjust the salt. 
8. Garnish with 2 tbsp grated coconut (the more the better ;)) and lots of finely chopped coriander leaves.

Last Sunday, we had one of the best parties of our lives at a friend's farmhouse in Hyderabad. It was a pot luck barbeque party and I carried among other dishes, some prawns. Deepali, my friend who is my culinary guru, asked me to try marinating the prawns in Chinese sauces and this turned out pretty good and different from the Indian bbqs. 



Method
1. Devein and deshell 1 kg prawns. Leave the tail on.
2. For marinade, add 2-3 tsp soya sauce, 2 tsp chilli sauce, salt, pepper, red chilli flakes, 1 tsp honey and 3 tsp olive oil in a glass bowl. You can change the proportions according to your taste.
3. Toss the prawns in the marinade such that all the prawns are covered and refrigerate for 24 hours.
4. Arrange the prawns on a wet wooden skewer. 

5. Grill in barbeque - keep basting with the leftover marinade and oil while grilling. 

You can also try adding some sesame seeds (Till) to the marinade. I will try it next time. The prawns can also be barbequed at home on a pan - it wont taste smoky but then this will be a good second option.

I like the sweet and sour dishes in Chinese cuisine. I think its the yin and yang concept that manifests itself in the recipes.  

Method

1. Marinate about 250 gms of deshelled and deviened prawns (I left the tail on) for about an hour with 2 tsp soya sauce, 2 tsp red chilli sauce, 1 tsp vinegar a little bit of honey and salt to taste.

2. Cut 1 onion into lengthwise thin strips. Julienne  about 1/2 cup of carrot  and 1/2 cup of capsicum. Finely chop about 1 tsp of garlic and 1 tsp of ginger. In Chinese cooking most of the ingredients are cut in the same shape. You can also cut all the vegetables into cubes instead of julienne. Cubes takes slightly longer to cook.

3. Take 2 tbsp  of oil in a pan. Add 2 tsp of cornstarch to the prawns. When the oil is hot, saute the prawns till they are pink and start to curl. Dont overcook the prawns as then they become harder.Remove from pan and set aside

4. In same pan, add 1 tsp oil and saute the carrots for 2 mins till slightly soft. Remove from pan and set aside

5. In same pan, add 1 tsp oil and saute the onions. When the onions are pink, add the ginger and garlic and saute briefly on medium flame. Add capsicum and carrot and saute till the vegetables look cooked. 

6. Mix 2 tsp soya sauce, 2 tsp vinegar, 2 tsp red chilli sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp corn starch and add this to the pan and bring to boil. The mixture will thicken and coat the prawns and the vegetables beautifully.

Serve with rice /noodles. 

As I was writing this post, I wondered whether what I bought today was shrimps or a prawns? Googled and found this post. The differences are so subtle that  I would rather enjoy my food - anyways whats in a name....

We like Red thai curry - I used to generally cook it with chicken and vegetables. Last week I had bought some prawns and decided to cook prawns the Thai way..and it was so tasty...The flavor of coconut milk goes best with prawns and I think this dish tasted better than Thai curry with chicken or with vegetables. Here is my recipe for Thai Prawn curry.

Method 

1. Take 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add 1 large finely chopped onion, 1 tsp finely chopped ginger and saute till soft and the onions urn pinkish. Add 2 green chillies slit along the length and 3-4 blades of lemon grass and saute

2. Add 50 gms of  of red curry paste and cook for a minute.

3. Add 2 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped and saute till tomatoes are soft. Add 50 gms of coconut milk powder dissolved in 1 cup of water to the pan. Adjust the water according to your taste. Let this come to a boil and then let it again simmer for 5 mins.

4. Add 1 cup of deveined and deshelled prawns and cook for 5- 10 mins or till the prawns are cooked.

5. Last add 5-6 chopped coriander stalks and some finely chopped coriander leaves and cook for a minute.

Serve with rice.

A simple and yummy recipe which my grandmother taught me. My granny who is 78 loves to cook anything new (and of course within the cuisine that suits her) that she reads or sees on TV.  Whenever we call her, she always has some or the other new recipe to tell us about. She likes to share new recipes which she tried out and liked. I hope I am able to be half as enthu as her when I am old :) So this is one such tried and tested recipe that she had read in a newspaper.


Method
1. Clean and de-vein the prawns. Keep the tail on - it gives a crunchier taste to the dish.
2. Marinate the prawns with red chilli powder, salt, turmeric, ginger garlic paste for at least half an hour
3. Add one egg white to the marinated prawns.
4. Heat refined oil for deep frying. Roll the prawns in cornflour and deep fry on medium flame till crispy brown. Drain on absorbent paper.



P.S. I was so hungry that I forgot to take pics after frying these. We started our lunch and then when a few were remaining, it struck me that I should take a pic..thats why this pic with a so few prawns...will replace the pic next time I cook this again!!

I ate this dish for the first time in a shack in Kerala and fell in love with it. It goes very well with Appam and I cook it very frequently as a side dish.

Method 

1.     Marinate 20-25  prawns with 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, ½ tsp garam masala and salt for at least an hour

2.     In a pan, add 2 tbsp coconut oil. Add 2 twigs of Curry leaves, 2 finely diced green chillies, 1 big onion julienne. Add 1 inch of julienned ginger  and 5-6 pods of garlic finely chopped. Add 1tsp ginger garlic paste. Saute all this till the onion is brown.

3.     Add 2 tomatoes finely chopped and sauté

4.     Add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam masala and 1 tsp red chilli powder and cook all this till the oil separates

5.     Now add the marinated prawns and cook

6.     Add 1 tsp tamarind paste for the tangy flavour. Add salt according to taste

7.     Add water to adjust the consistency

8.     Cook for 10 mins on a low flame. Add curry leaves and  1 tsp garam masala just before removing from flame.

9. Sprinkle freshly cut coriander leaves and serve with Appam or rice.

This dish is my creation from different Andhra recipes that I have tasted.

Method

1. Marinate prawns (after removing the shell - I use smaller prawns for this dish) with ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, tamarind paste and salt for atleast an hour before cooking
2.  Take 2 tbsp oil in a pan(Andhra dishes are high in oil but I add less of oil and use a non stick pan instead)
3. Add 1 tbsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp mustard seeds, pinch fenugreek seeds, 3-4 dried red chillies, 2 medium sized onions (cut them into long and thin slices) and 2 twigs of curry leaves. Saute on medium heat till onions are pinkish.
4. Add 2 chopped tomatoes and sauté.
5. Add 2 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, salt and sauté till the oil separates
6. Now add a cup of tamarind water. You can make this by boiling tamarind in water.
7. Add the prawns and cook for 10 mins on slow flame. Prawns cook easily to see to it that you don’t overcook them
8. I add a pinch of sugar to balance the sourness in this dish
9. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice

Andhra cooking is high in chilli, salt and tamarind. I don’t like too much chilli in my cooking and hence have not added much. You can add more if it suits your taste. You can replace prawns with boneless chunks of fish too.