Prawn Thokku or Eral Varuval is a delicious, finger-licking recipe where juicy plump fresh prawns are cooked in spicy, bold onion-tomato masala with full of flavor and comes together in under 30 minutes.
Prawn is cooked with the spices and ghee till the pieces are juicy, flavorful & roasted outside. It is simple, spicy and succulent. This is such an easy dish, yet so delicious and flavorful.
This tasty prawn recipe which goes very well with the chapati, naan, parotta etc. It can also be eaten as a side dish for biryani.
INGREDIENTS FOR PRAWN THOKKU:
- Prawn – Always use clean and deveined prawns. You may use Tiger Prawns or Shrimp also.
- Onions – Always prefer using shallots or red onions for making thokku.
- Tomato – Use ripe tomato either chopped or in puree form!
- Ginger Garlic paste – It adds so much flavor to the dish. You may use ginger garlic paste or crushed ginger garlic.
- Spices – I am going with the basic spice powders like Red Chili powder, Garam Masala, Coriander Powder, Turmeric powder. If you prefer a bright red color you may use Kashmiri Red Chili powder.
- Cilantro – Fresh cilantro adds nice punch to this thokku.
- Other Ingredients – Just the basic mustard, cumin, fennel seeds along with red chili and curry leaves.
HOW TO MAKE PRAWN THOKKU?
Devein the prawns and rinse a few times in cold water. Marinate with turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and lemon juice for 30 min at least.
In a kadai, add the sesame/coconut oil and when it is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, red chillies and curry leaves. Fry for a min. Then add the onion and saute until its soft.
Add the ginger garlic paste. Fry till it’s raw smell goes off. Add the tomato now and sauté it well.
Add the salt, chili powder and garam masala. Mix well.
Cook until the oil oozes out. Now add the marinated prawns and mix well.
Do not add any water. The prawns by itself leaves out water and gets cooked by that water itself.
Let the oil oozes out again. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it.
HOW LONG DO YOU NEED TO COOK PRAWN?
Prawn gets cooked really fast. All it takes is 5 to 8 mins depending on the variety and size. If you cook more it tends to become rubbery and chewy.
HOW TO SERVE PRAWN THOKKU?
Prawn Masala has a thick semi gravy consistency. It goes well with almost anything and everything. Idli, Dosa, Roti, Pulao, Biryani, or any dish.
HOW TO STORE THIS THOKKU?
This thokku can be stored in fridge for 3 days.
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Prawn Thokku
Ingredients
- 1/2 kg Prawns
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Red Chili powder
- 1/2 tsp Coriander powder
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Sesame Oil/Coconut Oil
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds
- Fresh Curry leaves
- 2 Dry Red Chilies
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
- 1 large Tomato chopped
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 tsp Garam masala
- 1/4 cup Cilantro chopped
Instructions
- De-vein the prawns and rinse a few times in cold water. Marinate with turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, salt and lemon juice for 30 min at least.
- In a kadai/pan, add the sesame/coconut oil and when it is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, red chilies and curry leaves. Fry for a min. Then add the onion and sauté until its soft.
- Add the ginger garlic paste. Fry till it’s raw smell goes off. Add the tomato now and sauté it well.
- Add the salt, chili powder and garam masala. Mix well.
- Cook until the oil oozes out. Now add the marinated prawns and mix well.
- Do not add any water. The prawns by itself leaves out water and gets cooked by that water itself.
- Let the oil oozes out again. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it.
- Serve the thokku with rice or roti or naan.
Notes
- You can use frozen prawns as well to make Prawn Thokku.
- Do not cook the prawns for too long as they might turn chewy.
- Adjust the number of chilies and chili powder as per your taste preference.
- Cooking with sesame oil/coconut oil is a must to get the flavor so don’t skip that.
- Make sure you always cook the onions and ginger-garlic paste well before adding the tomato.
