How to Make, Indian Style King Prawns in Tandoori Masala.

This is a real party favourite or a tasty supper. You can use any prawns you like, I tend to buy tiger prawns from my local fishmonger.

If you are using frozen prawns you can defrost them in running water which will also remove anything added to help preserve them.

I tend to use Tiger Prawns in my dishes. They have more flavor and seem firmer so that when they are cooked they hold their shape.

Most Tiger Prawns in Britain come from Bangladesh, where they have utalised the flood plains to farm them.

1/2 kilo of King or Tiger Prawns

2 tablespoons of mustard seeds

Teaspoons turmeric; Tablespoon paprika

Two large onions; Four cloves of garlic

½ a cup of lemon juice

2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar

Three heaped tablespoons of Tandoori powder.

Teaspoon Chinese style fish sauce.

Three tablespoons of ghee or oil.

Two cups yogurt

Mix prawns into yogurt and add tandoori powder. Leave to marinate for a couple of hours.

You will taste the difference once you have given the marinate time to work. The yogurt will naturally tenderise the meat whether it is fish, foul, or meat. Chicken in particular benefits from being left in yogurt for a few hours before cooking; overnight is even better. I usually marinate my lamb in yogurt for any curry.

Heat pan, don’t clean after putting the onions aside - pour in your yogurt / prawn mix and keep stirring over a medium heat until cooked. The prawns will turn a tasty pink when ready.

Add boiled rice to your onion mix, stirring it all together, and then serve with the prawns over the top.

Two cups basmati rice or any long grain rice.

Wash the rice first in cold water, then let it stand about twenty minutes in warm salted water, rinse again in cold water and you will see that the grains have grown quite a bit. Boil until almost soft.

Fine chop your onions and garlic and then place them in a dry frying pan; add a little salt, which will help bring out some of the water from the onions and make them fry better. Let them sweat a littleuntil they are transparent and then add ghee. Cook on a low heat until they begin to turn a golden yellow. (coconut oil is a very good alternative, but it does not add to the flavor as well as the ghee does, however, it is lower in certain fats.) Put to one side.

Turn the heat up on your frying pan and add ghee or oil and let it get hot. Now add mustard seeds and let them pop and crackle turn down heat and make sure they don’t burn.

Add your cooked onions back in and stir well. Now add the spices; paprika and turmeric stirring constantly and add vinegar and lemon juice. Try to keep it moving or it may burn.

Put aside and keep hot. You might need a drop of water, or use orange juice.

This dish is really great with chapatis too, make them into wraps and fill with your prawn mix.