File:Prawns Satay Style Curry.jpg

Ingredients

1 cup shelled prawns (1 cup after shelling )... Salt - to taste 3/4 teaspoon red chilli powder or adjust as per your taste less spicy or more spicy 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder 1/4 teaspoon turmeric Tamarind - a ball as big as a medium sized lemon or kokam petals 5 -6 1 1/2 teaspoon Vaatan 3/4 vaati coconut milk ( fresh or tinned ) 1 medium onion - finely chopped 1 potato peeled, and chopped into 1/8ths 2 green chillies 3 garlic petals peeled 1/2 cup chopped coriander

Method

Take the cleaned shrimp in a plate or bowl - add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric,

dhana pood, vaatan and apply evenly to the shrimp

Take the tamarind mixture with the little water, and squeeze the thick tamarind

pulp over the above mixture (about 2 tablespoons of thick pulp). Rub into the prawns.

Let the prawns marinate in the above masala for 30 minutes

(you can taste the masala to check for salt level etc.

In a vessel, add some oil and let it heat on a medium flame .

Smash the garlic petals, slit the chillies lengthwise and add to the heated oil

Saute for 10-15 seconds, then add the chopped onions and saute till the onions

become light golden brown. At this point add the marinated prawns along

with all extra dripping marinade - make sure to get as much of the marinade

in along with the prawns as you can.

Gently saute the prawns in the oil for 1 1/2 minute till they start changing color -

hyala CKP loka savtaalne mhantat bara ka!

Add the peeled potatoes to the mixture and stir for a minute longer

Take the other tamarind water - which should really not be too strong -

just a hint of ambatpana to the water, remove any tamarind solids from it,

and add the water to the cooking prawn mixture. You might have to add a

little more water - make sure that all the prawns and potatoes and covered.

This is a proper rassa dish - not a dry gravy, so do not skimp on the water.

Cover the pot with a lid and let the prawns cook for 5-7 minutes

Remove the lid and add the coconut milk to the prawns. Mix well, cover and cook again on a low flame for 7-8 minutes.

At this point add salt to the curry. Start with less and then increase more -

the tamarind will already have given some ambatpana, plus there was salt

in the marinade. You might also want to adjust quantities of water / coconut

milk depending on how much gravy you want.

Let the curry cook for 3-4 more minutes after adding the salt. Check on the

potatoes to make sure that they are cooked.

Once the potatoes are cooked, add the chopped coriander to the curry,

shut off the flame, and cover with a lid.

Enjoy with chapati and bhaat! Kolmabiche kalvan is one of those rare kalvans

in CKP cooking that actually uses onions. The final result should reflect an

aambat-tikhat taste. Experiment subsequent times with more or less tamarind,