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Prawns Fry Starter | Chemmeen Porichathu | Iraal Fry | with step by step photos and video. Such a simple and delicious dish. This fried prawns is the prawn fry of good times. Just few ingredients, minimum cooking time, and maximum deliciousness, that summarises this recipe.

A highlight of Kerala cuisine and has frequently been touted as a highlight of Indian seafood recipes as well. It represents the perfect marriage between the flavors of the spices used in it and the tenderness of the prawns.

How to clean and devein the prawns?

Remove the prawn head. Hold the prawn by the body with one hand and use your other hand to firmly grasp the prawn’s head. Place the fingers from both hands at the intersection of the head and the body, where you want the break to occur. Pull back with both hands and twist until the head detaches.
Pull off the tail. Hold the prawn by the body and grab the prawn tail with your other hand. Using a firm grip, pull the prawn tail off where it connects with the meaty part of the body. Throw away the tail once you remove it.
Peel off the shell and legs. Once you have removed the shell, you should be able to peel off the remainder of the prawn’s outer layer quite easily. Use your fingers to pull the legs off from its underside. Then peel back any remaining pieces of the shell. This should leave you with just the meaty part of prawn left.
Devein the prawn. Use a sharp knife to cut a small line that runs down the length of the prawn’s back. This should be done on the top of the prawn, the opposite side from where the legs were. Inside, you will see a small black line. Use the tip of the knife to pull out the vein and discard it.

How much time to cook prawns?

Prawns normally cook within a matter of minutes. In general, medium-sized prawns take 3-4 minutes to cook, large prawns 5-8 minutes and jumbo prawns take around 7-8 minutes. The prawns are cooked when their flesh has turned pink and opaque throughout.

Is it necessary to devein prawns/shrimp?

When you buy prawns or shrimp you will notice a thin, black string down its back. Although removing that string is called deveining, it is actually not a vein. It is the shrimp’s digestive tract, and its dark color means it is filled with grit.

The decision to devein shrimp or prawns is basically a matter of personal preference and aesthetics, not hygiene, and the vein is not harmful to the human body if eaten. Most cooks will not bother deveining medium-sized or smaller shrimp unless they look particularly dirty. If the vein is visible through the shell and meat, and if you find the digestive tract unappealing and unattractive, then it makes sense to remove it. With large ones, it is fairly easy to devein them: Use a sharp paring knife to make a slit along the back and lift out the vein with the tip of the knife.

Why is my prawns chewy?

Chewy or rubbery prawns are a sign that you’ve overcooked them. As with other seafood, they don’t take kindly to being overcooked. You should probably cook them separately, just enough, and then mix them into whatever you’re eating them with.

Tips to make prawns fry extremely delicious:

After coating the prawns with the masala, you should leave it for few minutes to soak up the flavours. Maximum marination yields you better results.
Use coconut oil for the authentic taste.

How to make delicious prawns fry starter?

Prawns Fry Starter | Chemmeen Porichathu | Iraal Fry | with step by step photos and video. Firstly, the deveined & cleaned prawns are marinated in the masalas. Allow them to marinate for at least 30 minutes. If possible refrigerate overnight. The marinated prawns are shallow fried in coconut oil on both the sides. Fry until you reach a golden coating over the prawns. Read the step by step procedure for the exact color and prevention of overcooking prawns.

Furthermore, I would like to highlight some of our trending delicious sea food recipes from our non-veg collections. In addition kindly check our prawns masala recipe using coconut milk. You will surely love this.

Prawns Fry Starter

Course: SidesCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Total time

minutes

Prawns Fry Starter | Chemmeen Porichathu | Iraal Fry | with step by step photos and video. Such a simple and delicious dish.

Ingredients

1/2 Kg Cleaned Prawns
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Fennel Powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/4 tsp Cumin Powder
1/2 tsp Pepper Powder
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tsp Garlic Paste
Salt as required
1 tsp Coconut Oil
Juice of Half Lemon
3 tbsp Coconut Oil for Frying
Curry Leaves

Directions

Firstly, clean and devein the prawns. Drain them well.
Now, start adding the masalas one by one: 2 tsp Red Chilli Powder, 1/2 tsp Fennel Powder, 1/2 tsp Garam Masala, 1 tsp Coriander Powder,1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder, 1/4 tsp Cumin Powder, 1/2 tsp Pepper Powder, 1 tsp Ginger Paste, 1 tsp Garlic Paste, Salt as required, 1 tsp Coconut Oil, few curry leaves and juice of half lemon.
Marinate and coat the prawns by rubbing all the ingredients gently.
Cover & allow it to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes to 1 hr. If possible marinate overnight.
Now, Heat a pan. Add 3 tbsp coconut oil. Swirl the pan to make sure oil is evenly coated.
Once oil is heated, add the marinated prawns. Keep the flame to low-medium heat.
Fry each side for 3 minutes, over a medium flame. Flip & fry the other side for 3 minutes too.
Now turn the flame to medium-high, & roast the prawns until the color changes to golden as seen in the video. It takes approximately 2 to 3 minutes only. Keep on stirring until you notice the color is changed.
Finally, add few curry leaves & switch off the flame.
Serve as a starter or as a sides for boiled rice or any rotis.