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Prawn Varuval

Gourmet's Adventures with Ruth: Season One: Julie Sahni's New York

Serves4
  • Active time:35 min
  • Start to finish:35 min
December 2009
Watch a preview of this Gourmet's Adventures with Ruth episode and it view its accompanying recipes. Plus, explore all episodes and more recipes from the show.
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter (for 3 Tbsp ghee)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon Indian brown or yellow mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Indian red chile powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp fine salt)
  • 1 lb jumbo shrimp (about 20), peeled, leaving tail segment attached, and deveined
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 medium cloves)
  • a (1- by 2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise (about 12 long slices)
  • 12 fresh kari leaves
  • 1/2 lime
  • 1/2 coarsely ground black pepper, preferably Tellicherry

  • Equipment

    a karhai (wok like pot with 2 handles), wok, or large heavy skillet; a coffee/spice grinder

Make ghee

  • Bring butter to a boil in a very small heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Once foam completely covers butter, reduce heat to very low. Continue to cook butter, stirring occasionally, until a thin crust begins to form on surface and milky white solids fall to bottom of pan, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook butter, watching constantly and stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until solids turn light brown and butter deepens to golden and becomes translucent and fragrant, about 8 minutes more.
  • Remove ghee from heat and pour through a fine mesh sieve into karhai, wok, or skillet.

Season shrimp

  • Combine fenugreek and mustard seeds in spice grinder and finely grind. Put in a large bowl and stir in cumin, coriander, chile powder and salt. Add shrimp, tossing to coat with spices.

Cook shrimp

  • Heat ghee in wok over medium-high heat until hot, then add garlic, ginger, and kari leaves and cook, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 1 minute. Add shrimp and cook, stirring, until pink and just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat then squeeze lime over shrimp and sprinkle with pepper.

Photograph by Marcus Nilsson

by Julie Sahni, Julie Sahni's Indian Cooking School, New York

Keywords
adventures with ruth,
prawn,
varuval,
julie sahni,
new york
Diary of a Foodie
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