Authentic Sri Lankan Prawn Curry (Shrimp Curry)
User Reviews
5.0
114 reviews
Excellent
-
Prep Time
30 mins
-
Cook Time
30 mins
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Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
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Servings
4 servings
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Calories
200 kcal
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Course
Main Course, Lunch, Dinner
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Cuisine
Sri Lankan
Authentic Sri Lankan Prawn Curry (Shrimp Curry)
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This authentic Sri Lankan Prawn Curry (Shrimp Curry) is an easy recipe that can be adapted for any type of prawn or shrimp. The whole shrimp, including the head, is cooked to coax out the full depth of flavor, and the shrimp is tender and juicy and coated with a thick, flavorful sauce/gravy.EASY - A very easy curry to make. If you don't have experience cleaning shrimp, feel free to make this curry with cleaned / headless shrimp. It'll still be delicious, but the extra step of using shrimp heads makes the curry flavor incredibly more pronounced.
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Ingredients
Shrimp / Prawns
- 455 g large shrimp or prawns preferably head-on, about 20 shrimp (see recipe notes)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp Sri Lankan Curry Powder
Shrimp Curry
- 3 tbsp coconut oil or vegetable oil
- 4 - 5 garlic cloves finely chopped (about 1 tbsp)
- 1 inch piece of ginger finely chopped
- 1 medium onion red onion or sweet onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp unroasted Sri Lankan Curry Powder
- ½ tsp ground fennel
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper adjust to your spice level
- 1 tsp regular paprika
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 10 - 12 curry leaves karapincha
- 3 Pandan leaves rampe
- ⅓ cup coconut milk
- ⅔ cup water + ¼ cup at the end
- 2 - 3 fresh red chili peppers or 1 tbsp sambal oelek
- 2 tbsp lemon / lime juice
- ½ tsp sugar optional
- salt to taste
Instructions
Preparing the Shrimp / Prawns
- Clean the shrimp / prawns by removing the heads, and set aside (do not throw out). Peel the shell, leaving the tails intact and de-vein the shrimp (remove the intestinal tract).
- Rinse the shrimp and shrimp heads separately.
- Sprinkle the salt and curry powder over the shrimp and mix well and set aside to marinate while you cook the curry base.
Shrimp Curry
- Heat a saucepan or pan over medium high heat, and add the coconut oil. When hot, add the shrimp heads to the pan (it will sizzle and splatter, so be careful). Cook the shrimp heads for about 5 - 10 minutes until the heads become crispy and slightly caramelized in spots.
- Add the onion, ginger, garlic, a generous pinch of salt, and reduce the heat to medium and cook the shrimp heads until the onions soften - a few minutes.
- Add the curry powder, fennel powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, curry leaves and rampe (pandan) leaves and saute, while mixing frequently for about 5 minutes, until the spices are fragrant and have formed a paste with the onion, garlic and ginger.
- Add the coconut milk,⅓ cup water, fresh red chili pepper, sugar and lemon or lime juice and stir to combine. Bring the mix to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes until the mixture is thick and dark red in color.
- Add the peeled shrimp into the gravy base and gently mix to combine and completely coat the shrimp with the gravy/sauce. Add the extra ¼ cup of water if the gravy is too thick, or if you prefer more gravy.
- While gently stirring, bring the mix to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium / medium low heat. Cook for a further10 minutes, or just until the shrimp is cooked through and is nice and pink. Taste and season with salt if needed.
- Turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid and let the shrimp sit in the gravy for a few minutes.
- Sprinkle chopped cilantro (optional) on top, and serve with rice or roti canai or coconut roti. Enjoy!
Notes
- Links to the Sri Lankan curry powder and video tutorial to clean shrimp / prawns are in the post.
- You can choose to use store-bought curry powder. But please note that the flavor will be very different depending on the curry powder you use. Generic walmart brand curry powder doesn't have enough spices and I do NOT recommend it.
- I recommend purchasing curry powder from a South Asian grocery store instead. Look for a Sri Lankan curry powder or a Madras curry powder.
- I do not remove the tails, because we traditionally eat the tail too. It's nice and crunchy. But feel free to remove the tails if you prefer.
- The shrimp heads add a great deal of flavor to the curry. But if you don't or can't buy shrimp with heads, you can buy shrimp/prawns that come with the shell only. De-shell the shrimp and replace the heads in the recipe with the shells. Once the shells are nice and toasty, remove them BEFORE adding the onions. This will add more flavor to the curry.
- You can also choose to use shelled shrimp without the tail and skip the head-toasting step altogether.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
200kcal
(10%)
Carbohydrates
5g
(2%)
Protein
16g
(32%)
Fat
15g
(23%)
Saturated Fat
12g
(60%)
Cholesterol
142mg
(47%)
Sodium
791mg
(33%)
Potassium
218mg
(6%)
Sugar
1g
(2%)
Vitamin A
390IU
(8%)
Vitamin C
2.4mg
(3%)
Calcium
74mg
(7%)
Iron
1mg
(6%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 4servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 200 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 200kcal | 10% |
| Carbohydrates | 5g | 2% |
| Protein | 16g | 32% |
| Fat | 15g | 23% |
| Saturated Fat | 12g | 60% |
| Cholesterol | 142mg | 47% |
| Sodium | 791mg | 33% |
| Potassium | 218mg | 5% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 390IU | 8% |
| Vitamin C | 2.4mg | 3% |
| Calcium | 74mg | 7% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
114 reviews
Excellent
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