Prawn Balti (Step by Step Process)

I've done this before but I thought it would be good to show the process! One of the things I always have in my cupboard is coconut milk. You can use it for anything from fondants and soups, to curries and puddings...although obviously not all at the same time!
But tonight I just wanted to knock up a really hearty curry. It's been so hot over the last few days that on a cool night like tonight, having something like this really put a smile in my belly.
Cooking Time 15 Minutes
Serves 2
Ingredients:
400g Frozen Prawns
400g Rice
Balti Curry Paste
Coconut Milk
A whole chilli
A small bunch of coriander
Turmeric

Pop your kettle on, get a small saucepan on a medium heat and a wok or deep frying pan on a medium high heat. Pour your rice into the saucepan with two cups of boiling water and a pinch of salt. Remember to never stir your rice, only fork this, it helps the rice not clump together! Put your prawns into the wok with a little oil and keep an eye on them, spread them out and allow them to cook evenly until they start going pink.

Now I'm all for making your own curry paste with galangal, turmeric, five spice etc. but the good thing with curry paste in a jar is that, once refrigerated, it'll last as long as you like really. If you have a jar of this in your fridge, a tin of coconut milk and a huge bag of rice stockpiled away, you can pick up ANY kind of meat and you'll be able to knock up a killer curry, be it chicken, prawns, lamb or even quorn, cauliflower, paneer etc.

Add your curry paste about the time that the prawns start losing a little of their moisture, this should start mixing into a nice juice. If you use fresh prawns, apply this when they're the colour above and mix the prawns around evenly in the paste.

NOW, here's my ultimate tip for Coconut Milk and making the BEST perfect creamy curry and the best texture you could ever hope for. MOST people open the can, can of milk straight in, and mix this round. NO. Empty the can out into a separate bowl or mixing jug and whisk this until it's just like regular milk. Coconut milk isn't the milk from inside the coconut, it's the product of all of the ground up flesh from the coconut, so it needs a little elbow grease!

Once this is nice and smooth slowly pour this into the prawns and the paste and mix this until it's all the same colour. Let this blip away for a little while and throw in a chopped red chilli (Seeds Out!) and dust with a little turmeric. The best way to get the seeds out of a chilli is to slice the head end from the chilli and roll it along your chopping board, this should listen and kick out most of the seeds.

After a four or five minutes all of those flavours should have infused really nicely. Serve this with your rice, chop up a few naans (that I prepared earlier) and garnish with your finely chopped coriander!

Thanks again for reading guys, and let me know your favourite curries, tips and recipes. Just click below and post away!

Dan
x