Persian Recipe

How to cook… Sweet and Sour Prawns

Recipes

Serves 4 as a main dish

The Parsees brought their signature sweet and sour dishes to India when they moved from Persia (Iraq) to escape persecution in the 7th century. Their best known dish is Dhansak and most people plump for chicken but this dish shows just how perfect prawns are when combined with the sweet (jaggery) and sour (tamarind) tastes. Cook the prawns with the shells on to absorb all the beautiful flavours.

What you need…
• 200ml water (or more as required)
• 800g prawns, deveined by with shells left on
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 1.5 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1 chilli, chopped
• 1 Tablepoon yoghurt
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon tomato ketchup
• 1 Tablespoon jaggery (or brown sugar)
• 1 Tablespoon tamarind paste
• 0.5 teaspoon salt

Spice Mix 1
• 0.5 mustard seeds
• 0.5 fenugreek seeds
• 0.5 cumin seeds

Spice Mix 2
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon corianader
• 0.5 teaspoon turmeric powder

How you make it…
1. Add the prawns to a pan, cover with water (about 250ml but use more if needed) and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 minutes then put to one side.
2. Heat the oil to a high heat. Add the Spice Mix 1 and fry for 15 seconds. The seeds should sizzle immediately. You can test this by adding a cumin seed.
3. Reduce the heat, add the onions and cook until they are soft (about 5 minutes).
4. Add the ginger paste, garlic paste, chilli and yoghurt and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add the tomato, the tomato ketchup, jaggery, tamarind, Spice Mix 2 and half the stock from the prawns, mix well and cook until it forms a thick sauce (about 7–10 minutes).
6. Add the prawns and salt and heat through until the prawns are cooked through.
7. Sprinkle a few coriander leaves on top of the dish as garnish and serve.

CHEF’S TIP
This creates a curry with a thick sauce. If you like more sauce add more of the stock when you add the prawns.

If you like this you should try our…
Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona • Chicken Feet Curry (Africa)

What’s the obvious bread to order? … Sour. Doh!

How to cook… Prawn Dopiaza

Recipes

Serves 4 as a main dish

Originally a dish from Persia, Dopiaza means “two onions” and gives it name to this curry because onions are used twice in the recipe (in the Base Curry Sauce and towards the end when the fried onions are added). You’ll need to quickly seal the prawns in butter and brown the onions first, then create the sauce before re-adding the prawns and fried onions again at the end.

What you need…
• small knob of butter
• 800g prawns, shelled and deveined
• 3 Tablespoons ghee
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 600ml Base Curry Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup
• small handful fresh coriander (chop up the stems to add to the curry and set aside the leaves for garnish)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• salt to taste

Spice Mix 1
• 1 Tablespoon mild curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon vinegar


How to make it…
1. Heat the butter to a medium heat. While it is heating up mix the Spice Mix with the vinegar and enough water to form a sloppy paste.
2. Add the prawns to the butter and stir fry until they are pink. This should take about 2 minutes. Remove the prawns from the pan and set aside.
3. Heat 1 Tablespoon ghee to a medium heat and stir fry the onions until they are starting to brown. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
4, Heat the rest of the ghee to a high heat. While it is heating up mix the Spice Mix with the vinegar and enough water to form a sloppy paste.
5. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 15 seconds. They should sizzle immediately. You can test the ghee is hot enough by adding one seed.
6. Add the garlic paste and cook for 1 minute on a lower heat. You may have to remove the pan from the heat initially to stop the paste burning. (If it burns then throw it away and start again.)
7. Add the Spice Mix paste and cook for 2 minutes. It should now be thick and gloopy.
8. Add the Base Curry Sauce and the tomato and cook for 2 minutes.
9. Add the prawns, mix well and cook for five minutes.
10. Add the garam masala, salt, coriander stems and prawns and cook for 2 minutes.
11. Add the fried onions and continue cooking until the prawns are fully cooked.
12. Serve, garnished with the coriander leaves.


CHEF’S TIP
Caramelising the onions creates a sweet and slightly sticky dish so it’s complemented nicely with a spicy chilli pickle or tart lime pickle on the side.

If you like this you should try our…
Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona

Last time I was in a fruit and veg shop the owner told me that his onions could sing a Bee Gees song. I had to stay a bit longer to listen but then I noticed it was just the chives talking.

How to cook… Chicken Dopiaza

Recipes

Serves 4 as a main dish

Dopiaza is the restaurant favourite for onion lovers. Originally a dish from Persia, Dopiaza means “two onions” and gives it name to this curry because onions are used twice in the recipe (in the Base Curry Sauce and towards the end when the fried onions are added).

What you need…
• 3 Tablespoons ghee
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 600ml Base Curry Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup
• 800g chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• small handful fresh coriander (chop up the stems to add to the curry and set aside the leaves for garnish)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• salt to taste

Spice Mix 1
• 1 Tablespoon mild curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon vinegar


How to make it…
1. Heat 1 Tablespoon ghee to a medium heat and stir fry the onions until they are starting to brown. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
2. Heat the rest of the ghee to a high heat. While it is heating up mix the Spice Mix with the vinegar and enough water to form a sloppy paste.
3. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 15 seconds. They should sizzle immediately. You can test the ghee is hot enough by adding one seed.
4, Add the garlic paste and cook for 1 minute on a lower heat. You may have to remove the pan from the heat initially to stop the paste burning. (If it burns then throw it away and start again.)
5. Add the Spice Mix paste and cook for 2 minutes. It should now be thick and gloopy.
6. Add the Base Curry Sauce and the tomato and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Add the chicken, mix well and cook for five minutes.
8. Add the coriander stems, garam masala and salt, and cook for 2 minutes.
9. Add the fried onions and continue cooking until the chicken is fully cooked.
10. Serve, garnished with the coriander leaves.


CHEF’S TIP
If you really want to go for it with the onions you can place a couple of slices of raw onion to the top of the curry as a garnish instead of the coriander leaves.

Chicken Dopiaza, strictly for onion lovers.

If you like this you should try our…
Prawn Dopiaza • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona • Chicken Dhansak

I told my friend an onion is the only vegetable that can make me cry. So he threw a coconut at my head.