Prawns with Crushed Mustard Seeds : IHCC

"Alavida Madhur" (Goodbye Madhur), is our theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), and this is the last week that we are cooking from Madhur Jaffrey's recipes. It has been a fantastic and delicious 6 months cooking from The Queen of Spice's wonderful recipes. Indian cuisine has always been my very favourite, and the past six months has really been a delicious cooking adventure, and most of the recipes that I've tried shall make a return in my kitchen. A few favourites have already been repeated in my kitchen a number of times. And I will continue on to cook from the many recipes that I have bookmarked to try!

Starting from April through September, we will be starting with a new chef, Yotam Ottolenghi, an Israel-born, now based in London, and already have a few fantastic cookbooks to his name. He is most famous for his colourful and delicious vegetarian dishes, with a Mediterranean flair. I am pretty excited as I have never cooked any Mediterranean recipes before! If you would like to join us, please drop by IHCC for the full details.

So, for today, this dish Prawns with Crushed Mustard Seeds wraps up the last post of  Cooking with Madhur Jaffrey with my friends at IHCC. This is a delicious dish, cooked in a sauce of crushed mustard seeds. I can see a repetition of this dish in my kitchen in the future.

Suitable for kids and those who do not like spicy dish. The only spicy ingredient is the sprinkling of black pepper powder, which can be easily omitted if serving to kids. Here I have used the minimum amount as my kids are eating this as well, the next time when I cooked this for myself, I'll add red chilli flakes and more  black pepper powder for extra spicy kick. This dish is delicious served with plain white rice.

To wrap up this last post on Cooking with Madhur Jaffrey, I have listed a few favourites of mine.

Prawns with Crushed Mustard Seeds, what can I say, there was no leftovers!

Hare Masale Ka Omlate (Eggs with Fresh Green Herbs) : I really love this omelette dish, great as a main meal for a quick lunch, or to serve as a dish for the dinner table. The vibrant sunny yellow colour definitely makes it very appetizing!

Fried Fish Steaks : A simple mixed of masala spices marinated into the fish steaks. Very tasty and goes great with just any rice pilaf or plain white rice.

Red Pork Curry : This is by far my most favourite! The pork is cooked till very tender with all the flavours and fragrance from the spices.

Stir-Fried Cabbages with Fennel Seeds : Simple and delicious! 

Turmeric Rice : I have cooked this many times! Very good with any types of curries.

Please stop by I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) to view the delicious dish that my friends has made.

Prawns with Crushed Mustard Seeds

(source from : 100 Essential Curries, Madhur Jaffrey)

Serves 3-4

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons tomato puree

4 tablespoons mustard oil, or other vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 thin slices fresh root ginger, peeled

1 hot dried red chilli

450gm (1 lb) headless prawns, peeled, de-vein and washed

1/4 teaspoon salt

large pinch of freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice

Step One

Crush the mustard seeds, using a pestle or mortar or spice or coffee grinder.

Step Two 

In a small bowl, mix the crushed mustard seeds, turmeric and  tomato puree, together with 3 tablespoons hot water. Set aside.

Step Three

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic cloves, ginger slices and dried chilli and fry, stirring, for a few seconds until the mixture begins to darken, then add the prawns. Fry, stirring, until the prawns turn opaque. Stir in the mustard seed paste and turn the heat to medium-low. Add the salt, pepper and lemon or lime juice. Fry, stirring, for a further 2 minutes. Transfer to a warm serving dish.

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