Indian restaurant Dishoom‘s prawn koliwada is a deep dive into flavour and makes a delectable seafood starter or snack. Serve with their punchy green vada chutney to cut through the deep-fried richness.
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Ingredients
- 20g rice flour
- 20g chickpea (gram) flour (from large supermarkets)
- 2½ tsp deggi mirch (see Know-how)
- 1½ tsp garam masala
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- ⅔ tsp ground turmeric
- ⅔ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 2 tsp garlic paste
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh curry leaves (from large supermarkets or amazon.co.uk – or use dried)
- 40ml lime juice
- 300g sustainable raw, peeled king prawns
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
For the green vada chutney (optional)
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 20g fresh coriander
- 20g fresh mint leaves
- 5g granulated sugar
- 5g roughly chopped green chilli
- 25ml lime juice
- 25ml water
To serve
- Lime wedges
- Ready-made tamarind chutney and/or green vada chutney
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Method
- Mix the flours, spices and salt together in a bowl. Add the ginger and garlic pastes, chopped curry leaves and lime juice, then mix to a smooth, thick paste.
- Use kitchen paper to pat the prawns as dry as you can. Put in a shallow bowl, spread the spice paste over them and massage it in well to ensure the prawns are evenly coated. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer or other suitable deep heavy-based pan to 180°C (test using a digital probe thermometer – or a piece of bread will brown in 30 seconds). Deep-fry the prawns, in batches if necessary, for 2-3 minutes until deep golden brown and cooked (see tip). Drain on kitchen paper.
- Serve with lime wedges for squeezing and the tamarind and/or green vada chutney for dipping.
To make the green vada (coriander and mint) chutney
- Put a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add ½ tsp cumin seeds, toast for 2-3 minutes, then tip onto a plate to cool.
- Whizz 20g fresh coriander, 20g fresh mint leaves, 5g granulated sugar, 5g roughly chopped green chilli, 25ml lime juice and the toasted cumin seeds with 25ml water to make a thick sauce.
- Serve or transfer to a jar and keep covered in the fridge for a day or two.
This recipe has been taken from Dishoom’s new cookery book, Dishoom: From Bombay with Love. Order yourself a copy here.
Nutrition
- 219kcals Calories
- 13.2g (1g saturated) Fat
- 15.9g Protein
- 7.9g (0.5g sugars) Carbs
- 2.1g Fibre
- 1.5g Salt
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