Prawn Pepper Fry made with fresh prawns stir-fried with freshly ground pepper masala. This hot and spicy shrimp pepper fry is an easy prawn recipe from South Indian (Chettinad) cuisine that can be made within 30-minutes. Serve it as a side dish with dal and rice.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Main, Side Dish
Cuisine: Chettinad, South Indian
Servings: 4people
Author: Preeti
Equipment
Deep bottom pan or a skillet
Ingredients
For marinating the prawns
250gramprawnsde-shelled and deveined
1teaspoonginger garlic paste
Salt to taste
¼teaspoonturmeric powder
1teaspoonred chili powder
2teaspoonlemon juice
For pepper masala
1tablespoonblack peppercorns
2teaspooncoriander seeds
1teaspoonfennel
1teaspooncumin
For prawn pepper fry
2cloves
1green cardamom
1inchcinnamon
2dried red chilies(optional) or use fresh green chilies
2onionschopped
Curry leaves
1teaspoonginger-garlic paste
½teaspoongaram 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 pepper fry
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
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.