Prawns Chilli in Green Coconut sauce

My parents were flying into Mumbai for the week. I was in a tizzy as to what to cook for the sea-food lovers. My Dad was recovering from a tooth infection so that was one fussy eater right there. He had a simple request – Food should not be too spicy, not too hard to chew or better still just melts in my mouth. He normally loves his fish deep fried, crisp and spicy since that was out, and because I read up on what is good to sooth an afflicted tooth - Boiled potatoes, cloves, yogurt, anything that is neither too hot nor too cold.  

Based on these inputs, I decided on my version of Prawns Chilli in Green Coconut sauce

Ingredients (serves two):

1 small cup of prawns (12-15 deskinned pieces)

1 medium sized potato 

1 medium sized capsicum (bell pepper)

1 large Onion

1 tomato

6 shallots (pearl onions)

2 tbsp of Green Chutney (recipe below)

3 tbsp of shredded coconut

2 small Bay leaves

½ tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp garam masala

3 tsp oil

2 cups of water

Salt to taste

Method:

Peel the potato and cut them in small cubes. Dice the capsicum in approx. the same size.

Peel and dice the onions. Peel the shallots and cut them in thin slices. Cut the tomato into half; one half should be chopped fine and the other half may be diced.

Fry the onions in 1 tsp oil with a pinch of salt till it turns golden and then add the turmeric powder, garam masala (tastes better if it is made fresh) and green chutney and let it coat the onions and then add the tomatoes. Allow to cool.

Fry the coconut till it is brown (ensure that it is not burnt just roasted). Allow to cool.

Once cool, mix the fried items and grind to a fine paste.

Take a pressure cooker and add 2 tsp oil. Add the bay leaves, sliced shallots. Add the cubed potatoes and let it fry for under a minute and add the capsicum and fry again for just under a minute. Add the prawns and fry for a minute. Then add the paste and mix it very well. Now add the remaining finely chopped tomatoes and then the water and salt to taste. If at this time, you want to adjust the spice levels, you can do so with Kashmiri Chilli powder or garam masala.

Now put the lid of the pressure cooker and turn off the heat after you hear two whistles. Let it cool and serve it with a garnish of coriander leaves and a tsp of butter (If you feel it is a little watery, add cornflour and let it cook for a minute. Wait till gravy thickens to serve).

Green chutney: Take a cup of coriander leaves, ¾ cup of mint leaves, 5 green chillies, 6 pieces of garlic, 6 similarly sized ginger pieces, 1 tsp of tamarind paste, 1 tbsp of freshly grated jaggery and grind these to a paste. Add salt to taste.

You can refrigerate this and use for other dishes or even for that yummy sandwich.