Sri Lankan prawn curry or what some of you may know as a shrimp curry.

A seafood curry with delicious, addictive flavours you can cook in under 30 minutes.

Seasoned with curry powder, turmeric, red chilli powder, and pepper, mixed in with onions, and curry leaves, this quick and easy prawn curry recipe is an authentic Sri Lankan curry you’ll want to try.

The prawn curry is light yet filling enough to serve any time of the day.

What to serve with Sri Lankan prawn curry.

• Serve with any of your favourite rice recipes or even a simple steaming bowl of rice.
  • The prawn curry is rich and fragrant enough to be served without any other side dish to complement it.
  • coconut rice.
  • Easy lemon rice recipe.
  • how to cook rice on the stove.
  • Sri Lankan Yellow Rice(turmeric rice)
  • ghee rice(nei choru).

• Serve with any type of rustic bread or flatbread including string hoppers, hoppers, to pittu.
  • SRI LANKAN ROAST PAAN(BREAD RECIPE).
  • How to make poori(deep-fried Indian bread).
  • garlic bread
  • Garlic Naan recipe without yeast.

• Here are a few vegetarian side dishes to serve with prawn curry or make your own menu.
  • spicy green beans stir fry(bonchi thel dala).
  • Garlic butter oyster mushroom.
  • hot butter mushroom(fried mushrooms).
  • Sri Lankan fried eggplant/brinjal salad.
  • Easy eggplant stir fry
  • Sri Lankan wambatu moju(eggplant/brinjal pickle).
  • Sri Lankan spicy ash plantain(green banana)curry.
  • Spinach and coconut stir-fry(nivithi mallung).
  • gotu kola(pennywort salad)sambol.

tips to make the best prawn curry

• You can cook the prawns with or without the shell or use frozen shrimp to make the recipe.
• Pay attention to the flavours of the coconut milk and curry powder-based gravy, each ingredient added to this prawn dish is intentional and helps to complete the overall taste of the dish.
• Once you’ve made the coconut milk prawn curry, I encourage you to experiment with the quantity of curry powder you add and try different curry powders.
• For a thicker gravy, use thick, liquid coconut milk instead of coconut milk powder. The latter is good for an emergency, but I find it gives a really thin gravy compared to the liquid coconut milk.
• Cook the gravy until the colour changes to a darker brown.
• As the coconut milk gravy reduces, the taste and seasoning are adjusted.
• When to add the prawns to the coconut milk gravy.
  • Prawns take less than 10 to 12 minutes to cook and they continue to cook with the remaining heat. keep this in mind.
  • Once the gravy is thick and reduced, add the prawns and cook for just under 15 minutes over low-medium heat.
  • If you are cooking prawns without the shell then reduce the cooking time to just under 12 minutes. this will keep your prawn tender and less rubbery from overcooking.

Appliances/utensils to make the prawn recipe

• Chopping board/knife.
• Medium-sized bowl to marinate the prawns.
• Large frying pan.
• Wooden spoon

More Prawn(shrimp)recipes.

devilled prawns(Sri Lankan, shrimp devil).

Sri Lankan Jaffna curry powder prawn curry.

pepper prawns(shrimp) curry(Sri Lankan)

air fryer shrimp

Storing

leftovers can be stored in an air-tight glass container. avoid using your new plastic containers as they will stain. refrigerate the prawn dish only when it is cold.

Freezing

You can freeze the curry for 3-4 days. I wouldn’t advise freezing cooked seafood as the texture and taste may change when it reaches room temperature.

Heating

Always heat the prawn curry over a stovetop, I would not use the microwave as the curry tends to be pungent and the inside of your microwave will carry the smell for a few days.

Stop food waste by

Use any leftover gravy for breakfast with some sliced bread. you can also mix the gravy with some cooked ramen noodles for a curried noodle dish.

RECIPE DIFFICULTY- LITTLE CARE NEEDED

Ingredients to cook the prawn curry

The ingredients mentioned below are used in standard measuring cups and spoons.

500g of prawns cleaned and deveined(with shell on or without shell)

3 tablespoons of oil

2 tablespoons of lime juice

1 large onion sliced or chopped fine

1-2 green chillies split

2″ piece of cinnamon

2 tablespoons of grated/minced ginger

A handful of curry leaves(substitute with a bay leaf)

4 finely sliced garlic(can be minced as well)

1 lemon stalk cut and the stem bruised to release aroma

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon of curry powder(use a regular roasted or unroasted curry powder that is available to you)

2 teaspoon of chilli powder(increase as per your need)

Salt to season as needed

1 cup of thick coconut milk(refer to notes on best tips above for recommendations).

Optional ingredients

1 large tomato chopped

1 teaspoon of pepper powder(reduce if needed)

How to cook prawn curry.

How to clean and devein shrimp.

• Pull out the heads of the prawns and wash the yellow matter attached.
• There are two ways you can devein shrimp.
  • The first step would be to make a long slit from the head of the prawn to the middle of its spine and pull out the black vein, this also makes it easy for you to remove the shell while eating.
  • The second step would be to insert a toothpick along the spine of the prawn and pull out the vein.
  • These two posts on how to properly thaw frozen shrimp and how to clean shrimp can come in handy.

cooking the prawn curry.

Rinse the prawns with a pinch of Turmeric.

In a bowl marinate the prawns with lime juice(2 tbsps) and a pinch of salt for 15-20 minutes.

While the prawns marinate, over low heat, in a pan, pour oil then sliced onions, grated ginger, garlic, curry leaves( a sprig), green chilli, cinnamon, and sauté for 2 minutes until they become slightly brown.

Add red chilli powder, turmeric, curry powder, and salt to season.

Cook over medium heat until the ingredients come together as a thick paste making sure not to burn the spices.

Pour in the thick coconut milk and let it simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the gravy reaches a thick consistency.

Taste the coconut milk gravy and season with salt if needed.

Once the gravy is thick, drain the prawns of any liquid and add them to the gravy.

Reduce heat to low, cover with a lid and let the prawns simmer in the coconut milk for 10 minutes or just until they are cooked through(refer to best tips for more notes on cooking time).

Serve with rice and your favourite vegetable curries.

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