Prawn masala recipe aka prawn masala curry is a scrumptious and comforting prawn recipe Indian which is crazily popular in the subcontinents of India. It is a spicy, smooth, thick, flavoured prawns gravy masala where prawns are cooked in onion-tomato-based gravy with some spices and herbs. It is mostly relished with flatbread like roti, paratha, etc. or rice recipes like steamed rice, pulao, jeera rice etc.
Table of Contents
About the recipe
Tips and Suggestions
How to make Prawn masala (step wise photos)
Recipe Card
Recipe for Prawn curry
Recipe for prawn curry is one of the prime dishes in the seafood section of Indian cuisine because prawns are the most eaten seafood in India and Indians are undoubtedly very fond of curries. So, it has established its inimitable popularity. There are different varieties of prawns that are available in India like king prawn, tiger prawn, white prawn etc.
Prawn recipes curry is prepared in myriad ways in the different parts of India according to their own regional taste and flavour. This prawn masala recipe is very popular in northern and eastern India and this dish can be prepared with any variety of prawns.
I am a die heart fan of prawns and can have them in any form except raw. I have prepared plenty of dishes with prawns and it is one of the regularly used seafood in my kitchen. In fact, whenever I go to any restaurant, I always make sure to order a prawn dish mostly as an appetizer. For most non-vegetarian restaurants in India, there is always a section for prawn recipes and I always look forward to that portion of the menu card.
Prawns are the most versatile seafood that I have ever seen. It is tender in texture with a mild flavour of the sea. It gets cooked very quickly. So, it is considered a perfect ingredient for busy working days. It is used in myriad recipes in different forms of cooking other than curries like baked, roasted, boiled, barbequed, stir-fried, etc.
According to me, prawns are very easy to handle but the only challenge is to not overcook them. Yes, prawns get cooked very quickly. On the stovetop, it takes hardly 6-7 minutes to get cooked perfectly but not more than that. So it is very important to resist yourself cooking the prawns further.
Prawn masala recipe aka prawn masala curry is a very simple and easy recipe. It is prepared with very basic and regularly used ingredients in Indian cuisine. This spicy delight gets prepared very quickly without investing much time and effort. This curry is rich in texture and is overloaded with flavours which make it one of the perfect prawn masala for chapathi.
Ingredients for prawn masala
Prawns: The primary ingredient of the recipe which provides flavour and base to it. I have used king prawns for the recipe. But you can also use tiger prawn, white prawn or pink shrimp for the recipe.
Onion & Ginger-Garlic: These are the most common ingredients used to give texture and flavour to the curry.
Tomatoes: I have used tomato paste for the recipe. It gives a nice flavour, taste, and texture to the dish.
Green chillies & coriander leaves: Green chillies add a heaty taste and coriander leaves add a refreshing aroma to the dish.
Whole spices: I have used bay leaf and cumin seeds for tempering. All the spices induce a nice flavour to the dish.
Ground spices: For the ground spices, I have used turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and garam masala powder. Each spice is equally important for the perfect flavour and taste of the prawn masala recipe.
Salt: The basic ingredient of any savoury recipe which adds a salty taste to the dish.
Water: It is used to adjust the consistency of the gravy.
Oil: Any cooking oil can be used to prepare the curry. I have used olive oil, but you can also use flavourless oil like vegetable oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil etc.
Prawn masala recipe with step-by-step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. I have included all the tips and tricks below to make the recipe easier for you. Before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share a few interesting facts about the recipe.
Reasons behind the popularity of prawn masala curry
- It is one of the versatile prawn curries which can be relished with both flatbreads and rice items.
- The difficulty level of preparing this dish is low.
- It gets prepared very quickly which makes it a perfect dish for busy days.
- Its exceptional taste and unbeatable flavour.
- Though it looks very rich but no extra calorie thing like cashew nuts paste or cream is added to it. This makes it a healthy dish too.
Tips to prepare perfect prawn masala
- First cut and clean the prawns. Cut the head and devein them. Rinse them in water.
- Prawns get cooked very quickly. So don’t overcook them or else they will turn hard and rubbery.
- Marinate the prawn with salt and turmeric powder for at least 10 minutes so the prawns can absorb the salt. Or else they will be tasteless.
- Fry each side of the prawns only for 30-40 seconds and not more than that.
- Don’t skip whole spices during the time of cooking the masala. It induces a nice aroma to the dish.
- Fry the onions and ginger-garlic paste properly before adding tomato paste or else it won’t taste good.
- You can adjust the amount of red chilli powder and green chillies, according to your own taste.
- The consistency of the prawn masala gravy is thick but you can adjust the consistency according to your choice.
How to make prawn masala recipe?
To prepare the prawn masala recipe, first clean the prawns. Cut the head and devein them. Rinse the prawns nicely. Then marinate them with salt and turmeric powder for at least 10 minutes and keep them aside.
On the other hand, add onion chunks, ginger cubes, garlic cloves, and green chillies all together into a jar of a grinder. Pulse it to a smooth paste and keep it aside.
Add tomato chunks into the jar of a grinder and make a smooth paste of it. Keep it aside.
Now put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Then add oil into the pan and once the oil is hot, add the marinated prawns into the pan and fry them on low flame for 30-40 seconds on each side. Don’t over-fry the prawns or else they will become rubbery. Keep them aside on a separate plate.
In the same pan, add whole spices cumin seeds, bay leaf for tempering and allow it to crackle.
Add the onion-ginger-garlic paste into the pan and cook it on a medium flame for 10-12 minutes until it releases oil.
Add the tomato paste into the pan and give a nice mix. Cook it in medium flame for another 2-3 minutes.
Then add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and give a nice mix. Cook it on low flame for another 3-4 minutes until the masala releases oil.
Add coriander powder, cumin powder into the pan and give a nice mix. Cook it on the lowest flame for another 1-2 minutes.
Then add water into the pan for gravy and give a nice stir. Cook it on high flame until the gravy starts boiling. Then turn the flame low and add the fried prawns into the pan. Give a stir and cook it on low flame for 5 minutes.
Now, add chopped coriander leaves, garam masala powder and mix them well. Cook it for a few seconds. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.
Many Indian curry recipe have already been shared in my previous posts. You can check a few of them like
Methi prawn masala
Baby corn masala
Spicy mushroom curry
..And Many more…
Ingredients:
1 cup = 250 ml
To marinate the prawn
- 250 grams Prawn (Chingri)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
Other ingredients for prawn masala
- 1 large Onion, for paste
- 3 large cloves of Garlic, for paste
- 1 inch Ginger, for paste
- 2-3 green Chillies, for paste
- 2 Tomatoes, deseeded and diced for paste
- 3 tablespoons Coriander leaves, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 Bay leaf (Tej Patta)
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red Chilli powder
- ¾ teaspoon Cumin powder
- ¾ teaspoon Coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala powder
- Salt to taste
- 3 tablespoons Oil for cooking
- ¾ cup Water for gravy
Instructions:
- First, clean the prawns. Cut the head and devein them. Rinse the prawns nicely.
- Marinate 250 grams of prawns with ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and keep them aside for at least 10 minutes.
- On the other hand, add onion chunks, ginger cubes, garlic cloves and green chillies, all together into a jar of a grinder. Pulse it to a smooth paste and keep it aside.
- Add tomato chunks into a jar of a grinder and pulse it to a smooth paste. Keep the paste aside.
- Now put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Then add 3 tablespoons of oil into the pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add the marinated prawns (Step 2) into the pan and fry them on low flame for 30-40 seconds on each side. Don’t over-fry the prawns or else they will become rubbery. Keep them aside on a separate plate.
- In the same pan, add whole spices ¼ teaspoon of cumin seeds, bay leaf into the pan for tempering and allow it to crackle.
- Add onion-ginger-garlic paste (Step 3) into the pan and cook it on a medium flame for 10-12 minutes until it releases oil.
- Add the tomato paste (Step 4) into the pan and give a nice mix. Cook it in medium flame for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add salt, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon red chilli powder and give a nice mix. Cook it on low flame for another 3-4 minutes until the masala releases oil.
- Add ¾ teaspoon coriander powder, ¾ teaspoon cumin powder into the pan and give a nice mix. Cook it on the lowest flame for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add ¾ cup of water into the pan for gravy and give a nice stir. Cook it on high flame until the gravy starts boiling.
- Turn the flame low and add the fried prawns (Step 6) into the pan. Give a stir and cook it on low flame for 5 minutes.
- Add 3 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves, ½ teaspoon garam masala powder and mix them well. Cook it for a few seconds.
- Switch off the flame and put the pan down.
Serving Instruction
Transfer the prawn masala curry into a serving bowl. Serve hot or warm to enjoy its best taste. Pair up the succulent dish with your favourite rice item or flatbread and enjoy the north Indian delicacy.
Ingredients
1 cup = 250 ml
To marinate the prawn
- 250 grams Prawn (Chingri)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
Other ingredients for prawn masala
- 1 large Onion, for paste
- 3 large cloves of Garlic, for paste
- 1 inch Ginger, for paste
- 2-3 green Chillies, for paste
- 2 Tomatoes, deseeded and diced for paste
- 3 tablespoons Coriander leaves, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 Bay leaf (Tej Patta)
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red Chilli powder
- ¾ teaspoon Cumin powder
- ¾ teaspoon Coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala powder
- Salt to taste
- 3 tablespoons Oil for cooking
- ¾ cup Water for gravy
Instructions
- First, clean the prawns. Cut the head and devein them. Rinse the prawns nicely.
- Marinate 250 grams of prawns with ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and keep them aside for at least 10 minutes.
- On the other hand, add onion chunks, ginger cubes, garlic cloves and green chillies, all together into a jar of a grinder. Pulse it to a smooth paste and keep it aside.
- Add tomato chunks into a jar of a grinder and pulse it to a smooth paste. Keep the paste aside.
- Now put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Then add 3 tablespoons of oil into the pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add the marinated prawns (Step 2) into the pan and fry them on low flame for 30-40 seconds on each side. Don’t over-fry the prawns or else they will become rubbery. Keep them aside on a separate plate.
- In the same pan, add whole spices ¼ teaspoon of cumin seeds, bay leaf into the pan for tempering and allow it to crackle.
- Add onion-ginger-garlic paste (Step 3) into the pan and cook it on a medium flame for 10-12 minutes until it releases oil.
- Add the tomato paste (Step 4) into the pan and give a nice mix. Cook it in medium flame for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add salt, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon red chilli powder and give a nice mix. Cook it on low flame for another 3-4 minutes until the masala releases oil.
- Add ¾ teaspoon coriander powder, ¾ teaspoon cumin powder into the pan and give a nice mix. Cook it on the lowest flame for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add ¾ cup of water into the pan for gravy and give a nice stir. Cook it on high flame until the gravy starts boiling.
- Turn the flame low and add the fried prawns (Step 6) into the pan. Give a stir and cook it on low flame for 5 minutes.
- Add 3 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves, ½ teaspoon garam masala powder and mix them well. Cook it for a few seconds.
- Switch off the flame and put the pan down.
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