Tamarind prawns recipe
I discovered a version of this recipe whilst flicking through a new cookbook and it sounded really easy, but called for an ingredient I don't think I have ever used before - tamarind. I am fortunate that the village I live in has a wonderful wholefood shop and they have such a range of interesting foodstuffs that I was fairly certain I would be able to buy it there. So I went out for a walk and included a visit to the shop, purchased the tamarind paste and came home and cooked the recipe. This is my version that I have developed from that recipe. It is very easy to cook and I hope you enjoy the slightly sweet flavour that the tamarind brings.
Ingredients - serves 2/3.
- Packet of frozen prawns, about 180g (defrosted).
- 1 and a half teaspoons of tamarind paste, plus another teaspoon.
- One and half tablespoons of olive oil.
- One teaspoon of lazy garlic or 1-2 cloves of garlic.
- Half teaspoon of lazy chilli (or more to taste).
- One onion.
- Half a courgette.
- One red pepper.
- One stick of celery.
- Cinnamon stick.
- Half teaspoon of turmeric.
- 400g tin of chopped tomatoes.
- 1 tablespoon of water.
- Ground pepper to taste.
- Rice to serve (or cauliflower rice).
Method
- Drain the defrosted prawns and put them into a bowl.
- Add one and half teaspoons of tamarind paste and stir well to coat the prawns.
- Set aside while you prepare the rest of the dish.
(If you are serving it with brown rice, put the rice on now).
4. Heat one and half tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan.
5. When it is hot, add the chilli and garlic.
6. Heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Chop the onion and add to the pan.
8. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion has softened.
8. Add the cinammon stick, broken in half, and the turmeric.
9. Stir well.
10. Chop the pepper, courgette and celery and add to the pan.
11. Stir well and cook for about five minutes.
12. Continue to stir occasionally to prevent the vegetables sticking to the pan.
13. Add the tin of tomatoes and swirl out the tin with a tablespoon of water and add to the pan.
14. Add one teaspoon of tamarind paste to the pan.
15, Stir well and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
(If you are serving with white rice, put the rice on now).
16. Add the prawns, stir and cook for a further 5 minutes.
17. Serve with rice and enjoy!