Goan prawn and green veg curry

A delicious South Indian inspired prawn curry with coconut milk

This light fresh tasty curry is adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s Goan Prawn Curry from her lovely and very accessible book Curry Easy. The recipe looks deceptively simple but she’s such a master of spicing - the flavours are amazing and I could seriously eat this all day. Adding lemon juice at the end really sharpens up the flavours and makes it feel quite light.

There is a gorgeous recipe for a separate green bean dish in the book, which goes beautifully alongside the prawns and I often make the two dishes. But it’s even easier (if a bit inauthentic) to add the green veg to the prawns. Usually green beans but the courgettes were a surprise discovery in the veg patch yesterday so I improvised and they worked very well. Obviously feel free to experiment with different green veg in season. You can cook the veg in the sauce if you like, adding the prawns just before the veg are ready but I find it easier to get everything just right if I cook them separately.

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
2 medium shallots or 1 smallish onion, finely chopped
300g green beans, trimmed and halved
2 small courgettes, chopped into batons
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
2tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
Tin coconut milk, well shaken
450g raw prawns
1/2 tsp salt
1-2tsp lemon juice (or to taste)

Method

1. Get everything ready before you start. If you want to serve with rice, start cooking that first. This is really quick!
2. Heat 2tbsp oil in a large frying or sauté pan, add the shallots and stir and fry until they are light brown.
3. Meanwhile, boil or steam the green beans and quickly sauté the courgettes in a separate pan in the remaining oil. Set aside when done.
4. Take the shallot pan off the heat and add the spices. Stir them in, then put the pan back on the heat and add the coconut milk. Stir this well as you bring to a simmer.
5. Turn the heat to low, then add the prawns and salt. As the prawns start to turn pink, add the green veg you cooked earlier.
6. As soon as the prawns are pink, quickly add the lemon juice, stir and serve.