Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Prawn Curry and Cucumber-Onion Raita



Last night was Halloween. There were lots of kids coming to the door. Lots of running up and down stairs to treat them. Should have planned better next time. I should have cooked earlier. Supper ended up being much later than anticipated because His Froginess and I were up and down the stairs a lot. I'd wished he'd have taken up more of the slack but some he didn't hear because he was on the opposite end of the apartment, outside. During all this my curry in a hurry was anything but.

Earlier in the day we found that, much to our delight, prawns were for sale at the store. Since we'd not seen prawns around here or Shearwater for a while it was a happy happy joy joy moment. We've found that we really like prawns in the canned curry sauce that is sold at Shearwater. Hot and very spicy to boot, President's Choice Thai Yellow Curry Sauce (Extra Hot)is just the thing for people who love their hot curries. It works well on chicken, too, so my Frog says.

After slowly steaming up the frozen prawns in a covered pan over low heat, the sauce is poured over it to simmer and infuse the prawns. Unfortunately, the sauce is very watery but a bit of cornstarch added firms it up quite nicely. H.F. is very picky about the thickness of sauces. I served it up with some plain basmati rice (such a lovely flavour), some diamonds of red, yellow and green peppers (I think the green was a mistake) and some lovely raita I whipped up quickly. The recipe is very nice and restaurant quality, I think. Here's the recipe from my beloved "The Complete Indian Cookbook" by Mridula Baljekar:

Cucumber and Onion Raita

1 tsp. cumin seeds
2/3 cup plain yogurt
3 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1/2 cucumber
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1. Heat a cast iron or other heavy-based skillet and dry-roast the cumin seeds until they release their aroma. Allow to cool and crush them lightly
2. Beat the yogurt with a fork until smooth, add the onions and crushed cumin seeds. Mix thoroughly. Cut three thin slices of cucumer and chop the rest (personal note: cut them small) Add to the yogurt.
3. Put the raita in a serving dish and arrange sliced cucumbers on top

Serves 4-6

Book suggests that it works well with any curry. It certainly worked with the prawn curry.


The picture didn't turn out well because my camera decided to lose juice just at that moment and the other battery was still juicing up in the wall. I wasn't about to wait for my food as I was hungry. I didn't even get a picture of the raita. Maybe next time.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, I read on Zen Foodism that not many people are commenting on your blog. Want to know the secrets? For one, comment on other blogs. A lot. (a) it lets people know that your blog exists, and (b) people like people who like them. Very simple. And then always reply to the people who comment on your blog (like me). It's all very insular, but gratifying.

Deetsa said...

Thanks, hun, for dropping in to have a look and leaving your mark. I appreciate your words very much and will take your words to heart. I was feeling pretty silly a bit after I put that on Zen... I wondered if it was too self-centered.

Thanks for coming to my rescue *S*

Anonymous said...

Catherine's spot on. Internet is much like making real-life friends on this. People just stick with people who like them and show it.

I guess everyone who's active on the "Use Net" (message boards, mailing lists, blogs, emails) just wants to share opinions and be heard. So it's not at all self-centered to want some traffic on your blog and comments on what you write. It's very normal.

Now about Halloween itself, the Prawn Curry was succulent. The presentation was key in the way I enjoyed the dinner, I think, even if I had to go back to the kitchen to refill! lol.

I was very surprised to like the Raita. It was really good and refreshing with the curry dish. No wonder it's a common addition to indian meals. But then, I must confess I'm a sucker for cucumbers. Just love them! :)