Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Spicy Shrimp curry (Era thokku)

After publishing the Chettinadu chicken biriyani, I was getting many requests from friends for this Shrimp curry. Here I am narrating how I prepare this tongue tickling shrimp thokku. This recipe may seem more oily, but definitely lesser than a fried shrimp. I prepare this kind of spicy and oily non veg recipes along with ghee rice, coconut milk rice or curd rice. Changing the ingredients' proportion will not yield the authentic South Indian shrimp curry. So stick to the recipe.
My hubby is not a fan of any crustaceans like shrimp or crab. So I rarely prepare those items. I used to wait for friends and family who like these foods and prepare these for them and would enjoy the food along with them. Nowadays I too rarely prepare Xav's non-favorite foods , as it is not interesting for me and so I didn't have any recent photos for this dish:) Try this one and tell me how you love it:)

Shrimp spicy curry / Indian prawn poriyal / eral thokku:
Chettinadu chicken biryani served with era(Shrimp) thokku .

You may need:
A thick bottom kadai / wok
a tight lid
spatula

Ingredients: 
sea shrimp - 1 lb (1/2 kg)
sesame oil - 1/4 cup
shallot onion - 25 number (naattu vengayam)
curry leaf - 1 sprig
fennel seeds (sombu) - 1 tsp
mace (jathi pathiri) - tiny bit
fresh ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
tomato - 4
green chilly - 3
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
sea salt - as per need

To Fry and grind (masala powder):
coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
dry red chilly - 5
channa dal - 1 tbsp
black pepper - 1 tbsp
cumin - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
cardamom - 3
cloves - 6
fennel - 1/2 tsp
nutmeg(jathikkai ) - 1 tiny shaving

Method: 
Buy fresh small or medium size shrimp. (Larger variety prawn / shrimp may taste bland - my opinion only). Remove the shell and intestines (green stuff seen at back of shrimp). Rinse well. Keep aside.

Bring to boil 1/2  cup water. Cook the tomato, peel(remove skin) and grind to a fine paste in that cooked water. Keep aside.

Heat the wok with 1 tsp oil, fry the items (chana dal, chilly, coriander - one by one separately and the others together) mentioned for grinding and grind it to a fine powder.

Heat 1/4 cup sesame oil / coconut oil in the wok. Add fennel, mace and let the fennel get red. Then add chopped shallot and fry till it gets golden brown. Put curry leaves, freshly made ginger garlic paste (1 inch ginger + 6 cloves of garlic). Fry for few seconds or till raw smell vanishes. Add the pureed tomato and cook till oil shows up. Then add the cleaned shrimp, salt, turmeric powder, green chillies and cook covered for 10 minutes (medium flame). Then add the prepared masala powder and cook covered in low flame till oil separates (5 minutes).
Garnish with finely chopped cilantro (optional). Switch off! Shrimp thokku is ready!

Serving suggestions: 
Serve as side dish with biriyani, curd rice, sambar rice, rasam rice, chapati.

16 comments:

virunthu unna vaanga said...

nice one...
Pepper Chutney/Dip
VIRUNTHU UNNA VAANGA

Suja Manoj said...

Can Imagine the flavor and taste,great preparation dear

divya said...

Just mouthwatering!

Priya Suresh said...

Quite different from mine, loving that grinding part, can guess how flavourful this era thokku will be.

Sangeetha Priya said...

Very inviting platter, mouthwatering
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Unknown said...

This is new to me and looks super good.

Vikis Kitchen said...

Thanks friends.
Thanks Sweetlady. You can add up to 1/2 tsp turmeric powder...more than that may give a powerful flavor.

Viju said...

Hi Vicky,

Your recipe looks wonderful. I'm planing to try it. I just have one small doubt. Will adding the masala powder in the end give it a raw flavor?

Thanks,
Viji

Vikis Kitchen said...

Hi Viju,
You can add the masala powder in early stage too. But I do it this way and I find it good without raw smell.
Thanks, Viki

Viju said...

Thank you so much for your reply... I will try it out and let you know how it turned out. I got to taste your era thokku recipe at a friends place and it was yummy.

Viju said...

Thank you so much for your reply... I will try it out and let you know how it turned out. I got to taste your era thokku recipe at a friends place and it was yummy.

Unknown said...

Viki, this is absolutely amazing dish. I tried this out few times and we love it. i also use the same recipe for chicken and it came out great. Thank you so much.

Unknown said...

Viki, this is absolutely amazing dish. I tried this out few times and we love it. i also use the same recipe for chicken and it came out great. Thank you so much.

Vikis Kitchen said...

Unknown friend: Thanks for the encouragement my friend.

haasini said...

Wonderful mouthwatering recipe to try. Thank you for sharing akka

//Bring to boil 1/2 cup water. Cook the tomato, peel(remove skin) and grind to a fine paste in that cooked water. Keep aside.//

Around how many cups of tomato paste we can use for this recipe? I am going to make tomorrow and let you know the feedback.

Look forward to your guidance. Thank you






Vikis Kitchen said...

Hassini : Sorry for the delayed reply (too much delay ...sorry again). I am sure you have tried this recipe. How did it turn out? My suggestion is always use the entire quantity of the ingredients just as I have written (unless otherwise stated). So pls use all the tomatoes.

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