I love prawns. Who doesn’t?
And I love prawns in all its form
– curry, fried, cutlets, Manchurian, fried rice and most of all the Sukka (dry
curry). I also love dried baby prawns chutney and dried baby prawns curry!
So, last Sunday when I went to
the fish market I was delighted to see two large basketfuls of white prawns –
fresh and succulent. I immediately decided the menu – Prawns and Spinach Curry with
Mackerel Fry and bought half a kilo of prawns and 3 large Mackerels.
When I came home my gastronomic husband
was delighted to see the fresh sea food and started having cravings for all
things prawns. Yes, I am married to a lover of prawns! So, when I told him what
the menu for lunch was, he changed it to suit his palette and satiate his cravings.
His menu was this – Mackeral
Curry and Prawns Sukka.
It was a good menu and I love
Prawns Sukka, but there was a slight problem. I was terribly short on onions
and tomatoes – two ingredients very essential for preparing a nice Sukka. Nevertheless,
I decided to go ahead and prepare the Sukka without the two core ingredients.
The tanginess of the tomatoes can always be created using lots and lots of
tamarind paste. For the sweetness of the onions, I decided to use the natural
sweetness of the fresh prawns by stir frying it for some time and get the delicious
prawns to release its natural sweet flavors.
And there was a magic ingredient –
the Sukka Powder. It was a spice mix that my aunt taught me. This spice mix has
such a spicily earthy flavour that it can accentuate any dish. I use it a lot
when I’m preparing chicken, prawns or clams Sukkas and also in Potato, Mushroom
or Cauliflower sabjis.
So here goes the recipe to Prawns
Sukka Sans Onion and Tomato.
Ingredients:
White Prawns (peeled and cleaned)
– ½ kg
Turmeric Powder – 1 teaspoon
Jeera Powder – ½ tea spoon
Red Chilli powder – 1 tea spoon
Tamarind paste – 4 table spoon (I
like a lot of tanginess, so use a lot of tamarind. You reduce or increase the quantity
to suit your taste).
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
Grated Coconut – 1 medium bowl.
(Sukka is a coastal Karnataka delicacy and like all our dishes, uses a lot of coconut.
However, you can replace the coconut gratings with Kopra, thinly cut slices of coconut,
2 tablespoons of coconut milk or completely skip this ingredient. The Sukka will
taste well even without the coconut).
Coriander leaves – about a fist
full for garnishing
 |
| Image coutesy: sashirecipes.com |
Salt – to taste
Sugar – 1/2 teaspoon
Oil – 2 tablespoon
Water – 100 ml
Sukka Powder – 4 teaspoons.
Ingredients for Sukka Powder:
Dried red chillies – 15-20
Black pepper corns – 10-20
Cumin seeds (jeera) – 2 tea spoon
Coriander seeds (dhania) – 1 1/2 tablespoon
Dalchini – 1 inch long
Cardamom pods – 2-3
Fenugreek seeds (Methi) – 1
teaspoon
Method
Dry roast all the above
ingredients for about 5 mins and grind them into a fine powder in a mixer. Do not
use any water. Store the powder in an air tight container. You can use this
powder as a taste enhancer in sabjis, dry curries and even in rasams.
Prawns Sukka Method
1. Into a tablespoon of tamarind
paste add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder, 1/2 teaspoon of red chilli powder
and 1 teaspoon of Sukka powder and mix it well. Marinate the prawns in this
mixture for about 15 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a deep pan or
kadai, add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute.
3. Add the remaining Sukka powder,
turmeric powder, red chilli powder and stir well for a minute or two.
4. Add the remaining tamarind
paste. Stir well.
5. Add the marinated prawns. Mix
well.
6. Add the sugar, salt and water
and cook on low flame.
7. When the prawns are half
cooked, add the coconut gratings and mix well.
8. When the prawns have cooked
well and all the water has evaporated, garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
That’s it. Prawns Sukka is ready.
It tasted well with Dal-Rice or Appams or Neer
Dosas.
Do try this recipe and tell me
how well you liked it.
