Chatpata Jhinga(Spicy Tangy Prawns Dry Fry)

Some of the Indian dishes are so phenomenal, you feel like eating them again and again, without getting bored with the taste or flavour. Chatpata Jhinga is a North Indian dhaba dish, very popular in major restaurants across the country. I first tasted this at Pallkhi Restaurant in Mangalore some years ago. They make this very well along with other variants like Chicken Chatpata, Paneer Chatpata, Gobi Chatpata and Baby Corn Chatpata.

Having tasted the variants of the chatpata dish, I have been figuring out how to prepare this at home. Online recipes are very few and they are different from what I had in mind. Then I came out with my own formula, my own imagination about the ingredients that may go into making this, and it turned out very good. I hope our followers will also like this. Like some of the Chinese starters, this one has two stages of frying, one deep frying stage and the other, shallow frying with sauces. Ingredients used in this dish are all natural, so even if the dish is on the spicier side, you need not fear about health issues!

This is a good starter dish but can also be served as a side dish with rice accompaniment or roti with curry. Tastes even better when it's raining outside or when the cool winter breeze makes you go for such hot stuff!

Ingredients:
Big Prawns - 400gms
Salt  - 1/2 tsp(Approximately)
Crushed Peppercorns - 1/2 Tsp
Lemon - 1/2
Corn Flour - 2 Tbsp
Refined Flour - 1 Tbsp
Rice flour - 1 Tbsp
Onions - 2 medium
Tomatoes - 2 small
Capsicum - 50 Gm

Ginger - 1" piece

Garlic - 10 cloves
Green Chillies - 2
Red Chilli powder - 1 Tsp
Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 Tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 Tsp
Cumin powder - 1/4 Tsp
Garam Masala Powder(Optional) - 1/2 Tsp
Yogurt - 2 Tbsp
Tamarind Pulp - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves(Optional) - 1 sprig
Coriander Leaves - 1 Tbsp
Refined Vegetable Oil - For deep frying and shallow frying

Method:
Dice onions, tomatoes, capsicum, green chillies into 1/2" pieces.
Finely chop ginger, garlic and coriander leaves.
Clean devein and wash the prawns, pat them dry.
Marinate the prawns with salt, pepper, lemon juice for 1 hour.
Add the three flours and mix, sprinking little water if necessary to coat the prawns well with a thick batter.
Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the marinated prawns on medium heat until crisp and golden.
Drain and keep aside.
Heat 2  tbsp oil in a pan. 
Add optional curry leaves, chopped onions, capsicum and green chillies and sauté until the onion is golden.
Drain and keep aside.
To the remaining oil, add chopped ginger and, garlic, fry for 1 minute.
Add chilli, turmeric, coriander, cumin, optional garam masala powder and chopped tomatoes.
Fry until tomatoes become mushy.
Add yogurt, tamarind pulp and about 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste. 
Fry well until the sauce thickens. 
If necessary moisten the sauce with 2 tbsp water.
Add the deep fried prawns, fried onions, capsicum and green chillies and stir fry until prawns are well coated with the masala.
Garnish with coriander leaves, serve hot with lemon wedges and mint curd chutney.

Note:
You can also make chicken chatpata by marinating 400gms boneless chicken chunks(1/2 inch cubes) and then following the method as for prawns.
Vegetarians can make chatpata paneer, mushroom, baby corn or cauliflower. 
No need to marinate the veggies. 
Reduce the spices a bit for veg preparation.
Make a thick batter by mixing the three flours, salt and pepper, with little water, dip the vegetable pieces, deep fry until golden.
Rest of the method is same as for prawn chatpata.