Prawn Spicy Green Masala

This is based on one of the popular dishes available at Gajalee Restaurant. They call it Prawn Green Chilly Sauce. It is so deliciously tangy and peppery, one just can't stop at one serving. Recently when I had this there with a mocktail, I repeated the order and had one more plate to go with just Tandoori Rotis.

Whenever I eat something new, I reckon what goes into the dish and roughly had an idea that the sauce has fresh mint leaves, coriander greens and onions apart from ginger, green chillies, garlic, turmeric and cumin powder. The tangy taste can be achieved by adding lemon squeeze, vinegar or green tomatoes.

My method of cooking is slightly different from Gajalee's and one can clearly make out by the appearance of the dish that I have not passed the gravy through the sieve and also kept the gravy thick. Besides, I don't want to lose all that fiber in the gravy which is good for digestion. Price of onion has nothing to do with it!

This has been made to my liking and I can always count on the chef at Gajalee to make that fantastic dish the authentic way. After all, we also need to promote good restaurants and good people. They have invested heavily to provide royal treat in a cozy ambiance and we can not parallel that!

Ingredients:
Jumbo Tiger Prawns - 500Gms shelled and deveined
Lemon - 1+1/2
Salt and pepper
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 Tsp
Shallots - A handful cleaned and chopped
Onion - 1 small cleaned and chopped
Ginger - 1" piece chopped
Garlic - 6 flakes peeled
Green Chillies - 4 cleaned and chopped
Coriander Greens - A handful
Mint leaves - A handful
Green Tomato - 1 small chopped(Reduce lemon squeeze by half if you add this)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 Tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 Tsp
Refined oil - 15 Ml
Butter - 25 Gms

Method:
Marinate prawns with salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/2 lemon squeezed, for 2-3 hrs in the fridge.
Clean, wash and grind the greens with chillies, ginger, garlic, onions and optional green tomato to a fine paste
Heat butter in a shallow pan. Fry the marinated prawns on high heat for 3-5 mins till tender.
Remove and keep aside.
Heat oil in the same pan, fry ginger garlic paste, followed by the green masala paste till oil leaves the sides.
Add juice of lemon, turmeric powder, cumin powder, about 1/2 tsp pepper and salt to taste.
Now add the fried prawns, add little water, cover and cook for 2-3 mins on slow heat.
Raise the flame, mix the prawns well with the masala, transfer to serving bowl and serve with lemon wedges and onion slices.