Bhagari Jhinga

“I’m going to scream this from the mountain top, there’s no such thing as ‘a curry.’ There’s six kazillion different kinds of curry. When someone asks how to make chicken curry, I have to ask ‘Which one?’” ~ Aarti Sequeira

You might remember a while ago I told you about how sticking to a strict healthy eating plan had helped me to control a previous bout of severe depression. Well with that in mind I thought I would share this recipe with you, it’s reasonably healthy. It’s something I had at a local restaurant a few months ago and was really excited when I managed to make it for myself at home and have it taste just as good.

It’s actually a really simple recipe; and really quick to prepare, you can have it ready to eat in about half an hour.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon tomato purée
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• one freshly chopped jalapeño pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 kilogram peeled raw prawns (I think it works best with king prawns)
• 1 tablespoon corn flour
• 1 tablespoon cold water

Optional ~ 500kg diced chicken

Method:

1. Take a bowl and mix together the tomato purée, salt, sugar, garam masala, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, jalapeño pepper, lemon juice, and coconut milk until you have a smooth sauce.

2. Crush or finely chop the garlic and place to one side.

3. Prepare the rice you plan to serve with this dish and put it on to cook.

4. Heat the oil in a wok or pan, once it is hot add in the mustard seeds and fry them until they begin to pop.

5. As soon as the mustard seeds start popping add in the garlic and stir until it begins to brown.

6. Add in the prawns and cook until they become opaque – this should only take a couple of minutes.

7. Pour the coconut sauce over the prawns and cook on a medium heat until the sauce begins to simmer, again this should only take a few minutes.

8. In a small bowl mix together the corn flour and water to make a paste. Stir this into the sauce.

9. Continue cooking until the sauce has the consistency of a sauce rather than a liquid.

10. Serve along with your rice.

Optional ~ I think this dish tastes even better if you make it with diced chicken as well as prawns. If you decide you want try cooking it with chicken you should add it to the pan after Step 5. Pan fry the chicken until it begins to brown then proceed to Step 6 – adding in the prawns.