Prawn masala made with juicy prawns stir-fried with onion and freshly ground pepper masala bursting with bold flavors from Chettinad cuisine. This hot and spicy prawn masala fry is an easy and quick recipe ready in 30 minutes. Serve it as a side dish with dal and rice. Here's how to make it easily at home with step-by-step pictures and a quick video tutorial.
![close-up image of prawn masala served in a white bowl with text overlay pepper prawn masala.](https://theyummydelights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/prawn-pepper-fry-5-683x1024.webp)
Prawn Masala Recipe
This prawn masala is made with juicy prawns that are sweet to taste and get a spicy kick from the black pepper. The combination of pepper and prawn in this prawn masala fry is just amazing. To experience the same you need to give this recipe a try. I can assure you that you will love the dish.
You can serve prawn masala with Roti, Paratha, Dosa, or with rice & curry as a side dish. Similar prawn recipes you might like are our Prawn Ghee Roast, Prawn Rava Fry, and Prawn Sukka.
This prawn masala recipe is from Chettinad cuisine, a popular cuisine from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu known for its spicy foods. In Tamil Nadu, this dish is popularly known as "Eral Milagu Varuval" which means Prawn Pepper Fry.
It is the heat from black peppers that makes the dish spicy. However, this pepper prawn masala recipe is not that spicy and you can always adjust the spice level as per your taste by increasing or decreasing the quantity of peppers.
You may also like these other popular prawn recipes from this website:
Ingredients & Substitutions
All the ingredients to make this prawn pepper fry are easily available in the Indian kitchen pantry. It takes only 30 minutes to make this prawn masala fry. For a detailed list of ingredients and measurements, check out the recipe card below.
- Prawns - I have used fresh prawns for this recipe. You can use any size prawn. Substitute it with good-quality frozen prawns. If you are using frozen prawns then thaw them properly. Drain off the water. Pat it dry with kitchen tissue and then use it.
- Pepper masala - It is made with whole black peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel, and cumin. If you have the above-mentioned whole spices in powdered form, add them. Adjust the quantity as per taste.
- Dried red chilies - Skip if you do not have them. You can substitute it with paprika.
- Onions - Basics of Indian cuisine. I have used 2 medium-sized red onions here. Traditionally, small red onions (Indian shallots) are used for this recipe.
- Ginger-garlic paste - Substitute it with crushed fresh ginger-garlic or add minced garlic.
- Curry leaves - This is the main flavor of any South Indian dish. Do not skip it.
- Flavoring - Garam masala powder, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and lemon juice. You can substitute lemon juice with vinegar or tamarind. Skip red chili powder if you prefer less spicy or substitute it with paprika.
How to make Prawn Masala (Step-by-step instructions with photos)
Preparations
- Clean the prawn - deshell and devein it. Rinse it well with water. Drain off the excess water. Transfer it to a bowl.
- Marinate the prawns with ginger garlic paste, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and lemon juice. Cover and set it aside for 15 minutes.
![Collage image of 4 steps showing how to make prawn masala. It shows marinating the prawns and making pepper masala.](https://theyummydelights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/prawn-pepper-fry-1-1024x1024.webp)
For Pepper Masala
- Roast black peppercorns, coriander, fennel, and cumin on low heat until aromatic. Remove it on a plate. Let it come to a room to room temperature. Grind to a fine powder. Pepper masala is ready. Set this aside. You can store this masala in an airtight container in the freezer. Stays good for a month.
Making Prawn Masala
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the whole spices and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add onions and sauté it for a minute or until translucent.
- Next, add curry leaves and ginger garlic paste. Saute it for a minute.
- Add the marinated prawns and combine. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Cover and cook for a minute.
![Collage image of 4 steps showing how to make prawn masala. It shows sauteing whole spices, onions, ginger-garlic paste and addition of marinated prawns.](https://theyummydelights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/prawn-pepper-fry-2-1024x1024.webp)
- Add 1 teaspoon of ground pepper masala and garam masala powder. Cook for a minute.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning. If required, add more salt or pepper masala.
- Finally, add lemon juice. Combine and remove from heat.
![Collage image of 2 steps showing making of prawn pepper fry. It shows the addition of pepper masala and lemon juice.](https://theyummydelights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/prawn-pepper-fry-3.webp)
- Serve prawns masala fry with dal-rice.
Tips to make Best Prawn Masala
- Devein the prawns - It is important to devein the prawns, otherwise, it may cause digestive problems.
- Cleaning the prawns takes a lot of time. You can buy deshelled and deveined prawns to save time.
- Also, you can clean the prawns in advance. Deshell, devein, and rinse it with water. Store it in the freezer in small batches. Stays good for 15 days.
- Marinating the prawns for 15 minutes helps them to remain soft and juicy after cooking. It absorbs all the flavors of the marinade and tastes delicious.
- Be careful while adding green cardamom to hot oil. Open it up a little, and then add it. Otherwise, it will pop up in hot oil and the hot oil may splash on you.
- Prawns get cooked quickly. So keep an eye on them. If overcooked they will taste hard or rubbery.
- You do not need all the pepper masala that we made. The masala makes the dish spicy. So, add the masala as per your taste. The quantity I mentioned in the recipe gives you a mildly spicy dish. Store the excess masala in an airtight container in the freezer. You can use this masala for chicken and meat dishes.
- Skip the addition of red chili powder or dried red chilies, if you prefer less spicy.
- This prawn pepper fry should be consumed fresh. Reheating it can make shrimp dry and rubbery.
What to serve with Prawn Masala?
- It tastes best when served with dal and rice (my favorite combination). Add a teaspoon of ghee on top of the prawn pepper fry.
- You can also serve it with rice and any curry you prefer.
Variations that you can try
- You can use the same masala to prepare Pepper Chicken. Only the cooking time will differ.
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and rating below! We'd love to hear your feedback.
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Prawn Masala (Prawn Pepper Fry)
Equipment
- Deep bottom pan or a skillet
Ingredients
For marinating the prawns
- 250 gram prawns de-shelled and deveined
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
For pepper masala
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel
- 1 teaspoon cumin
For prawn masala
- 2 cloves
- 1 green cardamom
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2 dried red chilies (optional) or use fresh green chilies
- 2 onions chopped
- Curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
Instructions
Preparations
- Clean the prawn - de-shell and devein it. Rinse it well with water. Drain off the excess water. Transfer it to a bowl.
- Marinate the prawns with ginger garlic paste, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder and lemon juice. Cover and set it aside for 15 minutes.
For pepper masala
- Roast black peppercorns, coriander, fennel and cumin on low heat until aromatic. Remove it on a plate. Let it come to a room to room temperature. Grind to a fine powder. Pepper masala is ready. Set this aside. You can store this masala in an airtight container in the freezer. Stays good for a month.
Making prawn masala
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the whole spices and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add onions and sauté it for a minute or until translucent.
- Next, add curry leaves and ginger garlic paste. Saute it for a minute.
- Add the marinated prawns and combine. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Cover and cook for a minute.
- Add 1 teaspoon of ground pepper masala and garam masala powder. Cook for a minutes.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning. If required, add more salt or pepper masala.
- Finally add lemon juice. Combine and remove from heat.
- Serve pepper masala fry with dal-rice.
Video
![YouTube video](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lVLA-ihmY6U/hqdefault.jpg)
Notes
- It is important to devein the prawns otherwise it may cause digestive problems.
- Cleaning the prawns takes a lot of time. You can buy de-shelled and de-veined prawns to save time.
- Also, you can clean the prawns in advance (de-shell and de-vein) and rinse them with water. Store it in the freezer in small batches. Stays good for 15 days.
- Marinating the prawns for 15 minutes helps to keep them soft and juicy after cooking them. It absorbs all the flavors of the marinade and tastes delicious.
- Be careful while adding green cardamom to hot oil. Open it a little and then add it. Otherwise, it will pop up in hot oil and the hot oil may splash on you.
- Prawns get cooked quickly. So, keep an eye on them. If overcooked they may taste hard or rubbery.
- Do not make this dish too spicy.
- You do not need all the pepper masala that we made. The masala makes the dish spicy. So, add the masala as per your taste. The quantity I mentioned in the recipe gives you a mildly spicy dish. Store the excess masala in an airtight container in the freezer. You can use this masala for chicken and meat dishes.
- Skip the addition of red chili powder or dried red chilies, if you prefer less spicy.
- This prawn masala should be consumed fresh. Reheating it can make prawns dry and rubbery.
- Storage Suggestions
- This shrimp pepper fry should be consumed fresh. Reheating can make the prawns or shrimp dry and rubbery.
- Not a freezer-friendly dish. When you thaw prawns and reheat them, they will not taste good.
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