21/09/2010

Picture courtesy of Lisa Levart.

Jane Garvey talks to the legendary Madhur Jaffrey about her first cookbook in seven years - Curry Easy. Madhur's own busy life shows absolutely no sign of slowing down, and she has simplified her recipes to suit. She'll be cooking Prawns with Garlic & Chillies in the studio.

Curry Easy by Madhur Jaffrey, published by Ebury Press.
ISBN 978-0-09-192314-3

RECIPE
Madhur Jaffrey’s Prawns with Garlic & Chillies
From Curry Easy (Ebury Press)

Madhur writes: This is easily one of my favourite first courses for dinner parties, one that I have served repeatedly over the years. Most of the work – and there is very little of it – can be done in advance, and the last-minute stir-frying, which is the ideal way to cook this, takes only a few minutes. It’s possible to do the entire cooking in advance if you wish. Just remember to reheat the prawns over a low flame. I have even served this dish with drinks. I stick a cocktail stick in each prawn and hand out napkins! (Serves 4)

Ingredients:
12 raw jumbo prawns, peeled and deveined
1/8 to ¼ tea spoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh hot green chillies
2 table spoons olive/rapeseed or peanut oil
½ teaspoon whole brown or yellow mustard seeds
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
15 fresh curry leaves or 10 fresh basil leaves, torn
5 tablespoons grated tomato

Method:
Wash the prawns well. Leave in a sieve for a while, then pat dry. Put in a bowl. Add the cayenne pepper, pepper, salt and chillies. Mix well. The prawns may be covered and refrigerated until needed.

Put the oil in a karhai, wok or frying pan and set over a medium-high heat. When hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as they begin to pop, a matter of seconds, add the garlic and stir once or twice. Quickly put in the prawns and curry leaves. Stir a few times. add the grated tomato. Stir a few times. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let the prawns cook gently, stirring just until they turn opaque, a matter of 2 or 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Grated tomato:
My recipes often call for grated tomatoes. This is the quickest way to get a rough tomato sauce.

Here is how you go about it:
Use the coarsest side of a grater, like the one you find on a four-sided grater. When you start grating, the tomato may refuse to oblige and slip around. Press hard, or even cut off a thin slice on that side, and keep going. When you get to the end, flatten your palm and grate off as much as possible until only the skin is left. Discard the skin. A medium tomato weighs about 140g/5oz and yields about 120ml/4fl oz fresh sauce.

Madhur Jaffrey article on vegetarian food