Prawn Roast

Prawn roast is a Chettinad dish made with succulent prawns coated in a medley of aromatic spices. It’s ridiculously easy to make and makes for a spectacular appetizer.

Whenever I’d travel home to Chennai, we’d make a beeline for Dakshin, the restaurant in Park Sheraton where these piping hot prawns would be served on a banana leaf along with appam and mutton stew. Back in the U.S., I’d desperately crave for these prawns. On one such day of immense craving, I decided to experiment a bit and thus the prawn roast was born.

It’s a simple dish that requires a marinade of turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, ginger, garlic and salt. With seafood dishes as I’ve recommended when making the Indian Crab Curry, I prefer using less salt since the meat already holds some salt from the sea. The key trick with these prawns is the all-purpose flour. It creates a nice crisp crust around the prawns which makes this dish stand out from any other stir-fry prawn dish. You also need to be patient with these prawns. Don’t crowd the pan! Keep them separate and do it in a few batches if you must. It only takes about 6 minutes per batch and trust me it’s worth it. These prawns have been a huge success when I’ve made them at home. All you need is that small amount of patience to watch the prawns carefully as they transform into crispy golden-brown morsels of yumminess.

Prawn Roast

Soumya Santhanakrishnan

Prawn Roast is a Chettinad dish with extra crispy golden prawns that make for a lovely appetizer! 

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Resting time 15 minutes mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 16 Large de-shelled prawns
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 0.5 tsp Red chili powder
• 0.5 tsp Coriander powder
• 1.5 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Ginger paste
• 1 tsp Garlic paste
• 3 tbsp All purpose flour
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil

Instructions

 

• Mix the turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, ginger paste and garlic paste in a large bowl.
• Add the prawns and then add the salt to the bowl. Mix well with your hands to ensure the prawns are fully coated in the marinade and let it rest for 15 mins.
• Spread the flour on a plate and coat each prawn on either side with the flour. Be generous because the more flour on the prawn, the crispier the texture.
• Bring a large pan to high heat. Add oil and wait for it to heat up.
• When hot, bring the pan to medium heat. Add each prawn to the pan and shallow fry for ~3 mins on each side. The prawns should be golden brown with a dark crisp forming on them when you take them off the pan.Serve immediately!

Keyword chettinad, easyrecipes, homemade, indian, prawns, recipes, seafood, simple, southindian, southindianfood, tastecooking, tasty