Topic: Prawn Jalfrezi

[haldi]

I spend quite a bit of time in takeaway kitchens
I always feel bad when I post their recipes
Somehow I betrayed their trust
Here comes some guilt:-

Prawn Jalfrezi

Heat 4  tablespoons of fresh oil and fry
Quarter Sliced onion, 3 chopped green chilli,1 teaspoon garlic ginger, 1 desertspoon mix, 1 teaspoon fenugreek leaves, ? teaspoon chilli, ? teaspoon salt
Dry fry for a minute stirring constantly

Rinse the frozen prawns in cold water and squeeze them
Deep fry for a minute (yes deep fry)

Add to the frying pan and stir in for a minute then add two ladles of curry gravy
Fry for 8 minutes to get thickness of sauce right

Near the end of cooking deep fry sliced onion, red pepper and ? tomato for a minute
Add this to frying pan and cook on a few more minutes
Serve

The curry gravy is made of nearly all onion, with a tarka added after pureeing
It's very runny, like a cup of tea

[andymac]

Hi Haldi

Whats the tarka consist off?

Thanks

Andy

[haldi]

Hi Haldi

Whats the tarka consist off?

Thanks

Andy

I'd almost forgot about this recipe
The tarka used oil from the fryer then they added equal quantities of tomato puree and garlic ginger
This was fried on low for about five minutes, then they added spice mix
Fried this for about two minutes then poured this into blended boiled onions
This was simmered for about an hour longer, then used as their curry gravy

I tried to make this at home and although it was good, it was not as good as theirs
I reckon it's the oil they use
These days I cook my rice, onion bhajees, samosas and poppadoms
I can make all these to BIR quality
But I buy the curries
I can't see any point in making my curries when they aren't as good

I love curry too much,and have found an amazing takeaway that never disappoints

[natterjak]

Hi haldi

Have you ever thought of asking the takeaway if you can buy some of their spicy oil? Then you could test your hypothesis by seeing what effect it has on your home cooked efforts.

[Naga]

I don't know how I missed this thread the first time around, but thanks to andymac for resurrecting it.

I'm going to try this recipe within the next week or so and see how it goes. It certainly reads OK.

[Secret Santa]

Haldi why do you think they pre-fry what presumably already cooked prawns? Does it perhaps enhance the flavour as frying does for most foods?

[Peripatetic Phil]

Haldi why do you think they pre-fry what presumably already cooked prawns? Does it perhaps enhance the flavour as frying does for most foods?

If they are frozen, Santa, they are almost certainly fresh, not cooked.
** Phil.
---------

Rinse the frozen prawns in cold water and squeeze them
Deep fry for a minute (yes deep fry)

[haldi]

Hi haldi

Have you ever thought of asking the takeaway if you can buy some of their spicy oil? Then you could test your hypothesis by seeing what effect it has on your home cooked efforts.

I've been given old oil, and yes it completely changes the curry gravy
You can get a 100% BIR flavour/aroma
But I've never been able to make the oil at home

The prawns were actually the pink frozen ones
So they were actually already cooked
I have no idea why they fried them, but they did

[Naga]

I said I would try this recipe and I did!

I made a very basic experimental onion gravy as Haldi suggested was used by the T/A responsible for the recipe - water, onions, potato, carrot, vegetable oil and salt, followed by more vegetable oil, tomato puree, garlic/ginger paste and some coriander stalks.

Then I followed the written recipe much to spec. I didn't deep-fry the cooked prawns - but I DID stir-fry the onion/pepper/tomato. Otherwise I stuck to the recipe, adjusting the quantities by half for a single portion.

The result? Actually, it was brilliant - the flavours were really, really excellent! I was surprised how good it was, given that it was a fairly basic recipe with standard ingredients. Will I make it again? Definitely! I could have made it a little hotter, actually, but the heat from my birds-eye chillies have been a bit variable, so I only added two this time around.

The Experimental Base gravy





The Ingredients



In with the Onion, Chillies, G/G Paste, Mix Powder, Dried Methi Leaves, Chilli Powder and Salt



Add a ladle of Base Gravy...



...and Reduce





Add another Ladle of Base Gravy and Reduce



Chuck in the Prawns and the Pre-Cooked Onions, Peppers and Tomatoes



On the Plate...





Thanks, Haldi!