Description[]
Yield: 1 servings
Ingredients[]
- 14 oz canned coconut milk
- 8 dried, red chile peppers
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 tbsp peanut oil
- 1 lg onion, thinly sliced
- salt
- 1 lb prawns, shelled, de-veined
Directions[]
- Process the grated fresh coconut or the desiccated coconut with 3½ cups hot water in a food processor.
- Drape a piece of folded cheesecloth over a bowl and pour the coconut mixture into the cheesecloth.
- Strain the liquid, squeezing the pulp to extract as much milk as possible.
- This is thick coconut milk; set aside.
- Pour 2½ cups hot water over the coconut in the cheesecloth and squeeze to extract more milk into another bowl.
- This second extract is thin coconut milk. Set aside.
- If you are using canned coconut milk, skip this step and proceed with the recipe.
- Grind the chile peppers, cumin and coriander seeds in a spice grinder and set aside.
- Process the thick coconut milk (or canned coconut milk) with the ground spices, turmeric, ginger and garlic; set aside.
- Heat the oil in a heavy, shallow pan.
- Add the onions and cook until the edges begin to turn almost reddish brown (about 15 minutes), stirring frequently.
- Add the coconut-spice mixture and cook until the liquid evaporates and oil separates from the paste.
- Cook this paste for 10 more minutes, stirring constantly.
- Stir in the reserved thin coconut milk (or 2 cups water, if you have used canned coconut milk) and let simmer until reduced to a creamy sauce. Add salt to taste.
- Stir the prawns into the sauce and cook a few minutes until the prawns are just cooked.
- Serve with steamed rice.
Grated fresh coconut[]
- Pierce the eyes of a fresh coconut and drain off the liquid.
- Put the coconut in a preheated 375 °F oven for 20 minutes.
- Break it open with a hammer and separate the meat from the hard shell in large pieces.
- Break the pieces into smaller ones and, using a vegetable peeler, peel the brown skin off the meat.
- Grate the coconut meat in a food processor.