Chemmeen Manga Curry

Prawns season has started in Bahrain. I should say that's one of the few exciting things that I look forward to in this scorching summer season. I've heard some people say prawns is one of the major contributor for cholesterol where as some say it isn't.  I don't know whom to believe, hhmm… since am a hardcore prawns fan I guess I will go with the second group ;).

Usually I make dry preparations with prawns like prawns roast, prawns olathiyathu etc; For a change I tried this preparation and am happy with it. Hope you will also like it :). Back home we don't make prawns curry at all, we make only prawns olathiyathu. However my mom in law makes fish curry with mango and I love that curry, so I had that taste in mind while making this and this one was quite similar to that. Btw, am not sure which part of Kerala this style of preparation belongs to, let me guess…north Kerala??? You are welcome to share if you know it :)

Here is the recipe:

chemmeen shrimp manga curry 300x201 1
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Chemmeen Manga Curry

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Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian, Kerala, South Indian
Servings: 3 -4
Author: Maria Jose Martin

Ingredients

  • 250 gms Cleaned prawns
  • 1 Raw mango (pacha manga) ( sliced into small pieces)
  • 1 med – big Onion (sliced finely)
  • 1/2 – 1 tbsp Chopped Ginger
  • 2 Green chilli
  • 1 tbsp Coriander powder
  • 1/2 – 1 tbsp Chilly powder
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1.5 cups Medium thick coconut milk
  • 1 cup Thick coconut milk
  • 4 Small onion / Pearl onion (sliced finely)
  • 1/2 tsp Mustard
  • Salt
  • Curry leaves
  • Oil (I used coconut oil)

Instructions

  • Grind together ginger, green chilli, coriander powder, chilli powder and turmeric powder with a little water. Combine prawns, mango & onion with ground masala. Add medium thick coconut milk & salt to this. Mix well. Cook till the gravy becomes thick & the prawns are done. Add thick coconut milk. Bring it to a boil and remove from fire.
  • Heat oil in a pan & splutter mustard. Add small onions & curry leaves. Fry it till the onion becomes golden brown. Add it to the curry. Serve hot with rice.

Notes

You can add or reduce the qty of raw mango, depending on its sourness. I use Maggi coconut milk powder. For 1 cup of thick coconut milk, add 3 heaped tbsp of coconut milk powder to 1 cup of water and for 1 cup of medium thick coconut milk, add 2 heaped tbsp of coconut milk powder to 1 cup of water. You can adjust the qty of coconut powder as per your requirements.
Tried this recipe? Let others know by…mentioning @mariasmenu or tagging #mariasmenu
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39 thoughts on “Chemmeen Manga Curry”

  1. Used this recipe for dinner and it was delicious. I didn’t do thick-medium / thick coconut milk but it turned out a beautiful consistency with just one can of coconut cream. Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe.

  2. hi, i tried this recipe tdy.it turned out good..this is the first time i am using your recipe… all your recipes are looking tempting . tomorow i will try pepper chicken…thanks maria

  3. hi, i tried this recipe tdy.it turned out good..this is the first time i am using your recipe… all your recipes are looking tempting . tomorow i will try pepper chicken…thanks maria

  4. Hi Julie,

    Even I’ve heard about it.. the thing is I use coconut milk powder for all my cooking and I havent had a problem with it till now, even if I boil it.

    However I havent tried cooking with fresh coconut milk yet, so I’m not sure about that.

    Cheers
    Maria

  5. Hi Maria,

    How long do you cook the Prawns? I mean, when I watch shows like Masterchef Asutaralia (I love that show…!), they are very particular abt not overcooking the prawns. They say abt 2-3 minutes. And they say to remove it from heat immediately to a plate bcoz it keeps getting cooked in the heat. But in most of our Kerala recipes they call for a time of abt 2–25 mins. So, I wanted to know what u suggest. Needless to say, I don’t cook Prawns much, but like you, they are my favorite! So, I thought it was abt time I got started. :)
    Great job on the site. Btw, I recommended your site to a Mangalorean friend of mine who is married to a Malayalee. She tried the fish recipes from your site, and got rave reviews from her husband…so yes, you have another loyal fan! :)

    Cheers,
    Manju

    • Hi Manju,

      Usually people say not to cook prawns more than 10-15 mins, that’s for our Indian cooking style. I’ve also heard people saying that it will become rubbery if you cook it for long. But I usually cook it for 20 mins at least and it hasnt turned rubbery yet. But I remember cooking with frozen prawns once and it turned rubbery when I cooked a bit longer… I think, if you are planning to cook it Indian style, cook for 10 mins on low flame and see how it goes…

      Thank you so much for recommending the blog to your friend as well :) Please do convey my regards and thanks to her also..

      Cheers
      Maria

  6. I tried this and the “prawn olathiyathu” yesterday it was awesome. really good. my hubby liked it a lot…

    • Hi Ann,

      Thank you so much for trying the recipes dear. I’m really happy that it came out well for you :) Also, thank you for sharing your feedback.

      Cheers
      Maria

  7. Hi Maria! Love your blog and thanks to you, I am hooked to trying new dishes…I’ve never been keen on cooking before so my mum & husband are most taken aback that I’m trying all of this.
    Just wanted to check, my mum uses ground coconut in this curry as well…is that required or is your version more authentic?

    Thanks again.

    Deepa

    • Hi Deepa,

      Thanks a ton dear :) I’m glad that this site helps you in cooking.

      I havent used ground coconut for this recipe & I’m not sure about the authentic part also. Btw, I’ve posted a Malabar fish curry recipe before, which uses ground coconut.

      May be you can try 2 versions using ground coconut & coconut milk :)

      Please do share your feedback if you try this. Also please convey my regards to your mom & husband :)

      Cheers
      Maria

  8. thnks Maria,

    I am an expert in kerala dishes now. All credit to you. My husband is very happy with my cooking now. I try out a new dish every day. This prawns curry came out really delicious.

    • Hi Suma,

      Thank you so much dear. Great to know that you find this place helpful in Kerala cooking. Thanks for sharing your feedback here :)

      Cheers
      Maria

    • Hi Praseeda,

      First of all, I’m so sorry for the delayed reply. I missed your comment somehow :(

      Star anise is thakolam in Malayalam. The number of whistles for pressure cooking beef, varies depending on the type of beef. I normally use Indian beef & this is how i cook:

      Afetr the first whistle on full flame, i reduce the flame to low-medium & cook for 5-6 whistles. Switch off the fire & keep closed for 20-25 mins.

      Once again, sorry for the delayed response.

      Cheers
      Maria

  9. Hi Maria..

    Planning to make this today.
    Etra perkuulla serving undakum ee particular recipe, Could you please let me know..

    Thanks in advance
    Sujitha

  10. This recipe as well as the Prawn olathiythu looks delicious. Will try it this weekend.

    Your chatti looks sooo good. I got mine from my husbands family home which has been used for generations. My hubby dear gave me such grief as I was carting it all the way back to NZ and he was sure it would break. I had wrapped it so well that not only did it survive the journey but provided me and my family innumerablr delicious curries.
    Now my husband proudly tells everyone the extra flavour is because it has come from his thurvada .
    MEN!!! what can you say!!!

    • Hi Parvathy,

      Thanks for visiting.

      I got mine also from Kerala and my hubby too says the same thing when I get those kinda stuff, as you said MEN!! :)

      Hope you will like the recipes

      Cheers
      Maria

  11. HC – hope you get some good mangoes soon, all the best!!

    Oycie dear thank you for your sweet words :)

    Thanks Veena, I got that chatti from Kerala.

    Thanks Pooja, Sakshi, Parita, Ria & Sangi :)

  12. I love chemmen curry with mangoes! Yours look like the way my mom prepares at home! So tempting. Has turned out perfect Maria!

  13. Morning Maria,

    Really worth peeping in your blogs one gets to c all the delicacies of Kerala.

    More than that I love to see your chatties.

    Love to u as usual,

    Oycie

  14. This is one of my favourite dish. We don’t get really good raw mangoes which is so sad, so i never can make this curry, drool drool droll.

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