Kerala Style Prawns Roast

When I was a kid, some of the advertisements on TV intrigued me! Sometimes there would be new advertisements of existing products and the concept of the whole advertisement would be based on one theme “new & improved” version of the product.

For example, take Horlicks (btw, this is just an example) when I see the advertisement of “new & improved” Horlicks, I always want to try the new & improved version, you know just to see what's the improvement ;)

However,  if you ask me, the regular Horlicks tastes the same to me even today, just like how it tasted when I had it for the first time, whenever that was. I'm yet to figure out what's so “new & improved” about it, hhmmm…

But, let me tell you a secret, even though I'm curious to try out the supposed “new & improved” version, I secretly hoped/hope the taste of Horlicks remains the same. I think it has more to do with the nostalgia associated with drinking of Horlicks than anything else. You see, when I was a kid, we rarely had family dinners. But, at around 10:30 – 11:00 in the night, we all sat together and drunk Horlicks as we caught up on the day's events, before hitting the sack.

So “Horlicks Drinking” time was also our family time.

Though I don't drink it regularly these days, I always have a bottle of Horlicks in my kitchen cupboard, just in case I wanna go back home and revisit all the memories, it's always a cup away :)

Coming to our recipe, this is an earlier post. This was one of the first prawns recipes on MM. I'm reposting this recipe with you as a part of the process of updating old posts with “new & improved” picture or “improved & detailed” recipe.

So now, you must've figured out the reason why I was going on about “new & improved” advertisements. Well, if you are wondering what's new about it – the ingredients remains the same, but the quantity and the method has slightly changed. That's the new part of it. The improvement part, consists of new picture, step by step picture and a video!

Let me tell you, this is one of my all time favourite prawns recipes. This is one prawns dish I make, where whenever guests come over – they all ask for the recipe, each and every time without fail.

The curry has a rich texture and the flavours of kokum (kudam puli) and coconut milk works wonders. You can also try it with any firm fish like King fish, Salmon, Pomfret etc; It tastes even better the next day! I highly recommend this recipe, I'm sure you'll love it.

Here is the recipe…

Heat oil in a pan. Add sliced onion and cook till it browns…

Step 1 Prawns Roast
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Add crushed ginger & garlic and curry leaves. Cook for 2-3 mins…

Step 2 Prawns Roast
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Add all the masala powders (chilli, coriander, turmeric, pepper & fennel). Fry for 2-3 mins till the raw smell goes and oil starts appearing. Add coconut bits & mix well. Add kokum water (the water in which kokum was soaked) and mix well…

Step 3 Prawns Roast
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Add tomato, soaked kokum pieces & salt. Add 1/2 cup of water and mix well. Cook till tomato becomes soft…

Step 4 Prawns Roast
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Add cleaned prawns and mix well…

Step 5 Prawns Roast
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Add medium thick coconut milk, mix and bring it to boil. Reduce flame to lowest and cover & cook for 10 mins…

Step 6 Prawns Roast
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Remove the lid, boil to reduce the excess gravy. Add some more curry leaves and mix well. Let it rest for half an hour for the flavour to settle in…

Step 7 Prawns Roast
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Kerala Prawns / Shrimp Roast (Chemmeen / Konchu Olathiyathu) Recipe
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Prawns / Shrimp / Chemeen Roast

Print Pin
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Inadian, Kerala, South Indian
Servings: 4 -5
Author: Maria Jose Martin

Ingredients

  • 500 gms Cleaned prawns
  • 3 medium Onion (sliced)
  • 1.5 – 2 tbsp Crushed ginger & garlic (each)
  • 1 med -big Tomato (sliced)
  • 1 tbsp Chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp Coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp Fennel powder
  • 1 – 1.5 tsp Pepper powder
  • 1/2 cup Coconut bits (thengakothu)
  • 1/3 cup Medium – thick Coconut milk
  • 2-3 small pieces Kokum (kudam puli) ((soaked in 3-4 tbsp warm water for 10-15 mins))
  • Coconut oil
  • Curry leaves
  • Salt

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a pan. Add sliced onion and cook till it browns. Add crushed ginger & garlic and curry leaves. Cook for 2-3 mins.
  • Add all the masala powders (chilli, coriander, turmeric, pepper & fennel). Fry for 2-3 mins till the raw smell goes and oil starts appearing. Add coconut bits & mix well. Add kokum water (the water in which kokum was soaked) and mix well.
  • Add tomato, soaked kokum pieces & salt. Add 1/2 cup of water and mix well. Cook till tomato becomes soft.
  • Add cleaned prawns and mix well. Add medium thick coconut milk, mix and bring it to boil. Reduce flame to lowest and cover & cook for 10 mins.
  • Remove the lid, boil to reduce the excess gravy. Add some more curry leaves and mix well. Let it rest for half an hour for the flavour to settle in.
  • Serve with Rice, Appam or Chapathi.
Tried this recipe? Let others know by…mentioning @mariasmenu or tagging #mariasmenu
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45 thoughts on “Kerala Style Prawns Roast”

  1. Hi Maria, the prawns roast was absolutely delicious. I have tried a lot of recipes ( curries, rice and cakes ) and everything turned out perfect and super yummy always!! Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Hi Annie, I’m not sure why it happens like that :( Do you use fresh coconut milk or powder/tin coconut milk?

      It’s usually said that if you boil coconut milk, it will curdle. But since I use coconut milk powder, I havent had any such experience.

      Try cooking it on a low flame and see..

      Reply
  2. Hi Maria,
    This is the first time I send feedback for a recipe. I made it Y’day and got a ton of appreciation from family members.
    thanks a lot .

    Reply
  3. Ive tried this recipes countless times, Maria and its EXCELLENT… well, excellent will be an understatement… doing it again today and I thought its high time I post a comment!!!! u r an amazing cook and a wonderful photographer too…..

    Reply
    • Hi Sojo,

      Thank you very much for taking time to share your feedback here, appreciate it very much :) I’m really happy to know that you make this dish regularly. btw, its one of my fav recipes too :)

      Cheers
      Maria

      Reply
  4. Thanks for posting such yummy naadan non veg recipes.I am hooked to your site.Never had the confidence to cook non veg.Tried out the fish nd chemeen  fry It was liked by all..Going to try out the beef fry and curry.

    Reply
    • Hi Shobha,

      Its a pleasure to know that this little space gave you the confidence to cook non veg dishes :) Thanks a bunch for trying the recipes from here & also for sharing your feedback with me.

      I do hope you like beef recipes too..

      Happy cooking!

      Cheers
      Maria

      Reply
  5. Maria, ur site was recommended to me Swapna@Swapnas Cuisine. I tried this dish wt double quantity n between the four of us, v n kids, it got over at one go! Tks for such a lovely recipe, wd try more frm here!

    Reply
  6. Hey Maria,
    Thanks for posting good recipes..Whn in doubt I just type mariasmenu and I always find wht i want. Ok for this recipe, are u sure its okay to boil the coconut milk then add shrimp..I have heard tht after adding coconut milk, I shd take off from fire before boiling…so wht shd I do ??

    Reply
    • Hi Danya,

      Thank you very much for the sweet words :)

      Usually, it is said that coconut milk should not be boiled. But for some recipes, I’ve boiled coconut milk. For this particular recipe, I always add the prawns after the coconut milk boils & it comes out well. I use Maggie coconut milk powder & it has come out well each time.

      Hope this helps…

      Cheers
      Maria

      Reply
  7. No doubt Maria…I’ve become an expert these days in cooking….this time i tried Chemmeen roast & Kovakka Peeravattichathu…… super…….
    my 2 yr old son ate his dinner with kovakka peeravattichathu…..
    he liked chemmeen roast as welll…. usually my mom hate to buy prawns coz its very difficult to clean prwns rt…bt these days if she find prawns somewhere she will get it….
    that much hit was ur chemmeen roast at my home…
    thank u so much maria for sharing all these recipes with us….. i have asked my friends also to check ur blog…
    will update u soon with my new experiment from ur recipe list

    Reply
    • Hi Deepthi,

      I’m so glad that you try recipes from here often & thank you so much for letting me know about it :)

      I’m so thrilled to hear that your little one also liked peera. My friends always say that it’s very difficult to feed their little ones. So it means a lot to me that a toddler also like the recipes posted here :)

      Again, thanks a bunch for recommending my blog to your friends alo, appreciate it very much :)

      Cheers
      Maria

      Reply
  8. Hey Maria,

    I just made this curry yesterday & it tastes fabulous !!! Especially today, coz the gravy is now really mixed with shrimp pieces….
    I’ve tried a couple of more recipes from this site & they came out really good too….

    Very thankful to you….. Keep up the good work !!!:)

    Reply
  9. hi maria…

    its for the first time im giving my feed back to a recipe ..lols…btw i am sharika..currently now in muscat…

    i did try this recipe and it came out very welll..usually even though i try out recipes ..i use my own measurements hahaha..but this i follwed each n every step….and it was liked by all..thank u soo much..u are really doin a good job…and ya in this recipe towards the end wen the prawns are cooked i added i teaspoon perumjeerakam podi also…it added thetaste..thts the only addition i made…keep on postin….:)

    Reply
    • Hi Sharika,

      Thanks for trying the recipe and also for letting me know about it. Appreciate so much for taking time to leave a comment here :)

      Hope to see you here often…

      Happy cooking :)

      Cheers
      Maria

      Reply
  10. This recipe is just awesome to say the least !
    The flavor is totally different and i loved it..n the tamarind just gives just gives the right amount of tanginess..! Hope u’l come up with more such ‘nadan’ recipes…! This is the first time i came across ur website and zeroed in on this one after browsing thru many others and am i glad about it..!

    Reply
  11. hey,

    Thanks a zillion for this recipe!!
    Tried this prawn roast today…and i can say confidently that it is the most awsome Indian prawn preparation I’ve had so far. The Bengali chingri malai curry (prawns in coconut milk) comes nowhere near this one..
    It was quite fiery (i think i overdid the chillie bit) and we had it with paranthas and were practically fighting for the prawns in the end..
    Will definetely try this in future.
    thanks again!

    Reply
  12. hi maria…this is a superb blog… i love to keep experimenting with new recipes esp non-veg and chanced upon ur blog one day while searching for a naadan chicken curry and since theen i’ve tried a lot of ur recipes n they’ve always turned out grt…i had been planning to make my usual prawn curry today, but i simply gave ur blog a look and saw this recipe… got reminded of the same prawn roast my mom makes at home…its really yummy! so changed my plan :).. will make this today …keep adding more wonderful recipes!

    Reply
    • Hi Parvathy

      Thanks a lot dear for your encouraging words :) Very happy to know that you liked the recipes posted here. Hope you liked this prawns recipe too, its one of our family fav recipe…

      Cheers
      Maria

      Reply
  13. Thanks Cary.

    Regarding the prawns getting hardened, it hasn’t happened to me yet. If you want, try reducing the qty of coconut milk, so that it will take lesser time.

    Reply
  14. it looks absolutely heavenly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!btw doesn’t the prawns get overcooked ‘n hard if we wait till all the coconut milk dries up???

    Reply
  15. hi maria!…its me again and thank u for ur advice…jst tried out ur recipe and …WOW!!…its amazin!…it def took care of my cravings!….this is the 1st time tht i ve tried one of ur recipes and im def gonna be trying some more for sure!.. :)

    Reply
  16. Hi maria,
    I would 1st like to to say tht im really impressed with your blog….and the food looks absolutely yummy!…..I have a craving for prawns and thought id 1st try this dish out and realized i dont have any kokum but instead have the usual tamarind(pulli) tht we use in fish curries…is it alrite to substitute the kokum with tamarind or is there any other suggestion u mite have?…
    thank u!

    Reply
    • Hi Anita

      Thank you for your sweet words :)

      Regarding using tamarind in the recipe, I havent tried it yet, so am not very sure about it. However I’ve seen some recipes where they have used tamarind, so it should be ok. Alternatively, you can increase the qty of tomato.

      Please do let me know if you try it. I would love to know how it turned out for you.

      Happy cooking :)
      Maria

      Reply
  17. hey maria,

    i tried out this prawns roast of urs…………its really gud.i mean 222 gud…my husband like it a lot.thnkx 2 u…..and keep up de gr8 wrk…it wud help people like me…..

    Reply

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