Thursday, November 18, 2010

Kolambiche Kalvan (Prawn Curry) CKP style

Refer to the following for my definition of a teaspoon :)

https://mwvsciencefair.wikispaces.com/file/view/teaspoon.jpg/51527157/teaspoon.jpg

Ingredients (For 2 people for 1 meal with roti and rice)

1 cup shelled prawns (1 cup after shelling, not before, cup is more like mothi vaati) Note : If possible, do not buy the big giant prawns - not as tasty. Also, do not buy the pink prawns - go for the black ones if available.
Salt - to taste
3/4 teaspoon red chilli powder (if you do not want it to be 'jhanjhanit', then use 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder (dhana pood)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Tamarind - a ball as big as a medium sized lemon lemon
1 1/2 teaspoon Vaatan
3/4 vaati coconut milk (not too thick, of the consistency that we have in kokum kadhi)
1 medium onion - finely chopped
1 potato peeled, and chopped into 1/8ths :)
2 green chillies
3 garlic petals peeled
1/2 cup chopped coriander

Method

1) Seperate the turmeric into two halves - soak one half in very little water (3-4 tablespoons of water) and soak the remaining in 2 1/4 vaatis of water. Let both sit in the water for a while. After the tamarind softens, mash the tamarind in both the waters with your hand, creating a fine pulp. Discard any seeds. At this point, do not discard any of the soft solidy parts of the tamarind let them stay in their respective waters.

2) Take the cleaned shrimp in a plate or bowl - add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, dhana pood, vaatan and apply evenly to the shrimp

3) Take the tamarind mixture with the little water, and squeeze the thick tamarind pulp over the above mixture (about 2 tablespoons of thick pulp). Rub into the prawns.

4) Let the prawns marinate in the above masala for 30 minutes (you can taste the masala to check for salt level etc. You are looking for a predominantly aambat-tikhat taste)

5) In a vessel, add some oil and let it heat on a medium flame

6) Smash the garlic petals, slit the chillies lengthwise and add to the heated oil

7) Saute for 10-15 seconds, then add the chopped onions and saute till the onions become light golden brown. At this point add the marinated prawns along with all extra dripping marinade - make sure to get as much of the marinade in along with the prawns as you can.

8) Gently saute the prawns in the oil for 1 1/2 minute till they start changing color - hyala CKP loka savtaalne mhantat bara ka!

9) Add the peeled potatoes to the mixture and stir for a minute longer

10) Take the other tamarind water - which should really not be too strong - just a hint of ambatpana to the water, remove any tamarind solids from it, and add the water to the cooking prawn mixture. You might have to add a little more water - make sure that all the prawns and potatoes and covered. This is a proper rassa dish - not a dry gravy, so do not skimp on the water.

11) Cover the pot with a lid and let the prawns cook for 5-7 minutes

12) Remove the lid and add the coconut milk to the prawns. Mix well, cover and cook again on a low flame for 7-8 minutes.

13) At this point add salt to the curry. Start with less and then increase more - the tamarind will already have given some ambatpana, plus there was salt in the marinade. You might also want to adjust quantities of water / coconut milk depending on how much gravy you want.

14) Let the curry cook for 3-4 more minutes after adding the salt. Check on the potatoes to make sure that they are cooked.

15) Once the potatoes are cooked, add the chopped coriander to the curry, shut off the flame, and cover with a lid.

Enjoy with chapati and bhaat! Kolmabiche kalvan is one of those rare kalvans in CKP cooking that actually uses onions. The final result should reflect an aambat-tikhat taste. Experiment subsequent times with more or less tamarind, more or less tikhat etc. per your taste.

5 comments:

  1. Super!...I plan to try this by Sunday afternoon :) I already called and told vahini to get the Prawns...cant go get myself this week...next week woh bhi kar lengey!

    I am very very very in "sho shweet" mode about your writing this for me! :D

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  2. Hi Rishi thanx for the recpe but what is vatan?

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  3. Vatan: 2 mid size Green Chilies, 4 cloves garlic, small piece of Ginger, Coriander. Grind it to smooth paste. Vatan is ready. It is called Hirveey Vataan (Green Vataan). There are various types of Vaatan.

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  5. Excellent and exact ckp recipe!!

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