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Kadai Prawns made with the secret home-made Kadai Masala will pack a punch with the best of best flavors you can ever imagine! You'll stop ordering any Prawn Karahi dish in the restaurant once you try this recipe at home with my special home-made masala blend. Watch the step by step Kadai Prawns recipe & make it your very own!
Don't miss the secret home-made Kadai Masala you need for today's recipe.
Prawn Karahi
Prawn Karahi is all about extraordinary flavors, plump prawns that are cooked just until tender & the right amount of kick from that extraordinary Kadai Masala blend is not something that you would love to miss!
We've been making all kinds of Karahi dishes with our home-made Kadai Masala like this Chicken Karahi Dhaba Style! Once, you make it you'll ditch all Dhabas for ever 😀
A good Kadai masala is extremely important for today's recipe of Prawn Karahi. It's the heart & soul of today's recipe except the good quality prawns of course.
And no store bought equivalent can give it the best flavor that you dream of.
Make this easy & quick Kadai Prawn with ONLY my secret home-made Kadai Masala & you'll know instantly that the correct blend of spices & a right dose of it is just so important for this dish!
The frozen Jumbo prawns are cooked just right, the veggies are crunchy with a good amount of bite, the aroma of the home-made Kadai masala is specifically potent.
All in all you'll have the best experience of Kadai Prawns ever!
So, make it with the help of the step by step guide below 😉
Flash marinating the Prawns - Ingredients
You'll just a few pantry staples to flash marinate the prawns before frying them lightly.
These ingredients will make the prawns more delicious and will boost the taste of the Karahi Prawn recipe.
And this is how the prawns will look after the light marination:
Pro Tip: DO NOT skip flash marinating the Prawns. It'll give your Kadai dish the best flavor & it matters! Do de-shell them before this process.
Kadai Prawns Ingredients
This is what you'll need for today's recipe of Prawn Karahi:
- Jumbo or Colossal Prawns: You can choose either frozen or fresh Prawns. I used frozen de-shelled & de-veined prawns Jumbo size. In case you decide to go with fresh prawns & do not know how to clean them here's a handy guide for you from Foodnetwork.
- Onions: Dice them into chunks. You can use either white onion or red. I also used some frozen pearl onions for some extra crunch & sweetness. You can skip the pearl onions if you want to.
- Tomatoes: Hunt down the juiciest tomatoes in town & skip adding water at all while cooking. The juices of the tomatoes will lend the right amount of moisture to this recipe.
- Veggies: You just need green bell peppers also known as capsicum. And you don't need much. Just a handful of diced green capsicums will do the job of adding some sort of crunch & beauty to the recipe. If you are after some heat in the recipe do add some taut dark green Serrano peppers.
- Additional Spices: Turmeric powder, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder. DO NOT skip any of these spices except the red chili powder.
- For Tempering: Whole cumin seeds, bay leaf & dried whole red chili.
- Garnishes for extra flavors: Ginger julienne, Kasturi methi (dry fenugreek leaves), if you want you may also add some chopped cilantro (coriander leaves).
- Some kind of oil for cooking: I chose extra virgin mustard oil for todays recipe but, extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, avocado oil are also good choices.
- Extra Special Ingredient & the most Important one: KADAI MASALA! You can't really do without this 😀 So, invest an extra 10 mins & make my secret home-made Kadai Masala blend. Use it to cook not only this Kadai Prawn recipe but also several other Kadai recipes like this Chicken Karahi Dhaba Style.
5 Tips to make the best Kadai Prawns
- Jumbo or Colossal Prawns: Choose either of them for best flavors. Small prawns doesn't work well for this recipe. Always go for Jumbo or Colossal size prawns. They are extra juicy & meaty & hence, are great for this Kadai Prawns recipe. If you cannot spot fresh Prawns choose good quality frozen ones. I have cooked todays recipe with frozen de-shelled & de-veined Jumbo prawns & the taste was fantastic.
- Pick Tomatoes that are very ripe & so juicy: You'll need no water to cook the curry. The juicy tomatoes will provide the exact right moisture necessary for the Prawn Karahi & make it way tastier.
- Never miss the home-made Kadai Masala: The magic lies in this masala so never skip this one ever! This is the most important ingredient for an authentic Karahi dish & subbing it with any other masala won't give you the best authentic flavors. So make it & use it. Grab the recipe of Kadai Masala from this post.
- Saute the Prawns by flash marinating them: Saute the prawns before dumping them into the curry. This way they won't release unnecessary moisture into the Kadai Prawns recipe. If you dump raw prawns to the sauteed masala they might release tons of moisture that'll alter the taste of the curry completely.
- Do not miss the other spices: The coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder they all have a role to play. Skipping them won't give you the best flavors.
How long can you store Prawn Karahi in the fridge?
You can store Prawn Kadai for 4 days in the refrigerator in an air tight container.
The bell peppers or capsicums will become little soft when you re-heat the Karahi Prawns.
Can you freeze Kadai Prawns?
Yes, you can freeze Kadai Prawns for 1 month in freezer safe bags or containers.
I skip the bell peppers from the recipe when I decide to freeze it. The capsicums don't taste so good in the curry when thawed and re-heated. They become ultra soggy!
You may skip the capsicums too if you choose to freeze the recipe for later use or you may add them if you do not mind soft bell peppers.
Pro Tip: Freeze the dish in portion size freezer bags to avoid thawing the whole gravy. Sprinkle water before reheating to add some extra moisture. Cover & re-heat to prevent the prawns from drying out.
Serving ideas
Kadai Prawns tastes best with Rommali Roti, Chapathi, plain rice, Jeera rice or a simple rice pilaf.
Other Karahi dishes you'll fall in love with.
How to make Kadai Prawns?
Steps in words below pictures
How to make Kadai Prawns?
- Fry the Prawns
Smear the prawns with ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, kashmiri red chili powder, lime juice & kosher salt (or regular salt). Shallow fry the prawns over medium heat until they changes into a lovely pinkish orange color. Set aside.
- Temper oil
Set a Kadai over medium high heat. When the oil is moderately hot throw in the cumin, bay leaf & dry whole red chili. Allow them to sizzle for a few seconds.
- Add the onion & Saute
Add the onion & saute until lightly golden. You may add salt at this stage to quicken the process.
- Add tomatoes & Saute
Saute the tomatoes until mushy.
- Throw in the tomato paste
Add the diluted tomato paste & mix in well with the mushy tomatoes.
- Add the spices
In goes the spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander & red chili powder. Mix everything well until just fragrant.
- Mix in the Prawns
Throw in the shallow fried prawns & mix well with the masala. The prawns should be nicely coated with the bhuna masala.
- Add the Veggies
Throw in the green bell peppers, frozen pearl onions & ginger julienne & give everything a good mix.
- In goes the home-made Kadai Masala
Next, add the home-made kadai masala & mix well with the rest of the stuff.
- Add kasturi methi + garam masala
Add the crushed kasturi methi & the garam masala & mix well. Saute until fragrant. It should take you about 2-3 mins. Serve hot. Enjoy!
Love Prawns? Don't miss these awesomeness from Foodies Terminal!
Kadai Prawns
Print Recipe Pin RateIngredients
- 1 pounds Prawns, de-shelled & de-veined (453.59 gms)
- 2 large onions finely chopped
- 2 large tomatoes finely chopped
- ½ cup green belle peppers diced into ½" squares (also known as capsicum)
- 9 small whole pearl onions (frozen or fresh)
- ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
- ½ tsp Cumin Powder
- ½ tsp Coriander Powder
- 2 tbsp home-made Kadai Masala
- ¼ tsp Garam Masala Powder
- 1 tbsp ginger julienne
- 1 tsp tomato paste (optional) (diluted with few tsp water)
- 1 tbsp crushed kasturi methi (or dry fenugreek leaves)
- ½ cup Extra Virgin Mustard Oil (or any oil)
- Salt (to taste)
For Tempering the Oil
For Flash Marinating the Prawns
- ½ tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
- ½ tsp Red Chili Powder
- ½ tbsp lime juice or lemon juice
- Salt (to taste)
Instructions
Flash marinating & frying the prawns
- Flash marinate the prawns with ginger garlic paste, turmeric, red chili, lemon juice & salt. Give the prawns a good rub & set aside.
- Next, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add about 1 tbsp oil. When the oil becomes moderately hot release the prawns & fry until pinkish orange in color. Do not over fry. It should take you about 2 mins to fry them. Set aside.
Making the Kadai Prawns or Prawn Karahi
- Set a Kadai over medium heat. Add oil. When the oil becomes moderately hot throw in the whole cumin seeds, dry red chilies & the bay leaf. Allow them to sizzle for a few seconds.
- Next, add the chopped onions & saute until lightly golden in color. You may add salt at this stage to quicken the process.
- Now, add the chopped tomatoes & saute until completely mushy.
- Add the tomato paste diluted with water & give everything a very good mix. You will notice that oil is leaving the sides of the Karahi.
- Next, add the spices (turmeric, coriander, cumin & red chili powders) and give everything a good stir until slightly fragrant.
- Add the shallow fried prawns & saute them with the bhuna masala until all the prawns are nicely coated with the masala.
- Next, add the frozen pearl onions, green bell peppers & ginger julienne & mix well.
- Now, add the Kadai masala, kasturi methi & the garam masala & saute until the prawns are well coated with the masalas & the curry becomes fragrant. Do not over fry. It should take you about 2 mins.
- Serve hot & enjoy!
Notes
- Measuring cup used, 1 cup = 240 ml & 1 tbsp = 5 ml.
- Do not miss out the HOME-MADE KADAI MASALA. it will give your Kadai Parwns dish the best flavors. I've made a comprehensive post on home-made Kadai Masala, it's just a click away & you can find the link shared in this post for the steps + Video recipe.
- Do not over fry the prawns. Stop when them turn pink & orangish in color. They should be nice & plump & juicy. Over frying prawns will make them stiff, rubbery & dry.
- You may skip out adding the pearl onions if you do not have them handy.
- If you choose to use fresh whole pearl onions do add them along with the chopped onions & fry them well.
- If you decide to go with pre-cooked frozen pearl onions follow the exact same recipe.
- I would recommend to use each and every spices because they all have specific roles to play & missing out on a single one will hugely impact the taste of the Karahi Prawns. You may adjust with the proportions & can use less or more but do not skip any of them.
- We prefer slightly crunchy veggies hence after adding the capsicums & frozen pearl onions I didnot cook the curry for a long time. But, if you prefer slightly soft veggies do cook for more 2-3 mins covering the Kadai. Do not increase the heat. Keep it at medium low & sprinkle some water so that the curry does not get stuck at the bottom of the pan.
- Do not saute much after adding the home-made kadai masala, garam masala & the Kasturi methi. Just saute for about 2 mins & turn off the flame. The ingredients will become slightly fragrant. Over frying will completely alter the taste of the masalas.
Nutrition
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Kerrie says
Thank you for Kadai Prawns (Step by Step) , we loved the recipe. This is the best Kadai Prawns I have ever made.
Foodies Terminal says
Thank you Kerrie and we appreciate your feedback 🙂 - Meghna.