Prawns in Mint Sauce

Bhapa Pudina Chingri

Inspired by Mahesh Khole's recipe on Facebook, this prawn dish was quick and easy to prepare and took just a few minutes to simmer on the stovetop. 

If it was on hand, I would have added cilantro stalks to the paste for more flavour. But it was delicious with mint and green chilies. Prawns take so little time to cook that it's ideal to prepare when there's not much time to spare. It's such a pity that prawns in the supermarket are sold headless. The heads of the prawns add so much flavour to the sauce.

To rid the onions of their strong smell, I blanched onion chunks in boiling water along with garlic before blending to a paste.

Ingredients:

1 lb. large prawns (20-30 count/lb.), shelled and deveined

4-5 stalks of mint leaves

1 large onion, peeled and cut in chunks

6-8 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 Tbsp. ginger paste

3 green chillies, slit with seeds removed if necessary

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. kalo jeera/nigella seeds

2 green chillies, diced

1 tsp. roasted cumin powder

Directions:

1. Bring a cup of water to the boil, blanch onions and garlic and drain.
2. Transfer onions and garlic along with mint, ginger paste and slit chillies to a blender jar and make a paste.
3. Smear prawns with the mint paste and set aside.
4. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat and sputter nigella seeds and chilies.
5. Carefully, slide the marinated prawns and mint sauce into the skillet.
6. Turn heat down to medium-low, cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
7. Transfer to a serving dish and serve with steamed basmati rice.