Video recipe for Kuttadaadan Konchu Kizhi or Kerala Prawn Masala
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking times: 25 minutes
Serves: 3
Ingredients
200 gms prawns, cleaned and de-veined
150 gms shallots, sliced
1 small onion
2 green chillies
2 garlic cloves
1 ½ inch long ginger
½ tomato
2 tbsp chopped coconut pieces
1 ½ tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp pepper
¼ tsp turmeric powder
2 dried red chillies
½ tsp mustard seeds
3 tbsp coconut oil
2 sprigs of curry leaves
¼ cup coconut milk (coconut milk powder mix, as it will be more stable to cook with)
Salt for taste
Method
Step: 1
Wash, clean and devein the prawns.
Step: 2
Chop the shallots, onion, ginger, garlic, and green chillies into small pieces and keep aside.
Step: 3
Pound the black pepper in a mortar and pestle and keep aside.
Step: 4
Heat one tablespoon of coconut oil in a “Manchatti” or thick bottom pan. Splutter the mustard seeds in it.
Step: 5
Toss in the chopped coconut and sauté for two minutes. Then add the chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies, and a sprig of curry leaves. Also, add dried red chillies in small pieces. Sauté all these together for a minute over a medium flame.
Step: 6
Add the chopped shallots, onion and sauté. Add salt to taste. Sauté until the shallots turn light golden brown. It takes approximately 10 minutes.
Step: 7
Add turmeric powder and mix well. Then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook till tomato becomes soft. It takes approximately three minutes
Step: 8
Then add red chilli powder and sauté for a few seconds over a low flame or until the raw smell goes away.
Step: 9
Add prawns and mix well with the masala.
Step: 10
Add half a cup of water and cook with the lid covered for about 4 minutes.
Step: 11
Add 1 tsp of pepper powder and mix well.
Step: 12
Add ¼ cup of coconut milk. Cook for two minutes over a medium flame with the lid covered.
(For a thick gravy, continue cooking uncovered.)
Making the Kizhi
Step: 1
Take a banana leaf, and warm it gently on a pan over a low flame to prevent it from tearing.
Step: 2
Transfer the prawn masala to the leaf. Tie the top edges of the leaf together with a thread or with the plantain fibre in the shape of a ‘Kizhi’ or pouch or bag.
Step: 3
Heat a ‘Manchatti’ or pan and pour one tsp of coconut oil. Place the ‘Kizhi’ in the pan and roast with the lid covered for about 5 minutes over a medium flame. As the leaf browns and softens, the dish is ready to serve.
Recipe courtesy: Sobha Varghese is a homemaker based in Mumbai, India. Sobha runs a popular YouTube blog called ‘Sobha's Kitchenette’ that focuses on authentic and traditional Kerala recipes