Recipes
Dishoom Prawn Moilee|Weston Table

Large Plates

Dishoom Prawn Moilee
If Indian cooking is new to you, Prawn Moilee is a fabulous jumping off point. The recipe is from London's Dishoom restaurant, an institution beloved for its self-described "ramshackle charm", its lasting impressions, and of course, its authentic cuisine delivered "From Bombay with Love". The menu is extensive and some of the thirty ingredient plus dishes are best to savory while sitting in the worn comfort and service of one of their outposts with the scent of naan wafting from the moment you enter the restaurant. This dish is the first one I cooked from the Dishoom cookbook--a book that is as interesting to read as it is to cook from and a book that unwinds the rhythm, character, and distinct taste of India's capital city (in 1995, the name was officially changed to Mumbai). This recipe is south-Indian style, a curry known for its lighter, tangier flavor and coconut milk-based sauce. The most important ingredient in this curry is the fresh curry leaves. Remarkedly easier to find than I dreamed, these lemongrass scented and tasting leaves come in packets in Indian food stores. It was a joy to visit and discover new tastes, new ingredients, and new friends who eagerly shared their own fresh curry leaf family recipes while nostalgically thumbing through the pages of my already curry stained copy of Dishoom. This dish comes together quickly and is a wonderful weeknight supper but succulent enough for special guests. The juicy prawns, added just before the curry, are ready to serve just three to four minutes after being added to the fragrant curry.
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cuisine Indian
difficulty Easy
season Year Round
serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

  • 6 green chillies (adjust amount for heat, we used 4 green Thai chilis)
  • 55ml vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
  • 30 fresh curry leaves
  • 300 grams Spanish white onions, sliced (a little chunky is good)
  • 15 grams garlic paste
  • 15 grams ginger paste
  • 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 25 grams fresh root ginger, cut into matchsticks
  • 400ml coconut milk
  • 250ml coconut cream
  • 24 large prawns
  • 300 grams medium tomatoes, cut into small bite-sized wedges 
  • Lemon wedges

Directions for the Curry

  1. Remove and discard the stalks from the chillies, then slice each one into 3 or 4 long strips. Set to one side. 
  2. Place a 4 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add 40ml of the oil, let it warm for a few seconds, then add the mustard seeds and 20 curry leaves. Let them crackle for a few seconds.
  3. Add the onions and sauté lightly for 12 to 14 minutes, until softened but not colored.
  4. Add the garlic and ginger pastes, salt, black pepper, and turmeric. Sauté for 3 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the sliced chillies and ginger matchsticks and cook for 3 minutes.
  5. Pour in the coconut milk and cream and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. While the curry is simmering, place a small frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Toss in the rest of the curry leaves and fry for 1 minute, until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside. 
  7. Add the prawns and tomatoes to the sauce and simmer gently for a further 3 to 4 minutes, until the prawns are cooked (pink and opaque)--do not overcook or they will be tough. 
  8.  Serve scattered with the fried curry leaves and lemon wedges on the side.

Directions for the Ginger and Garlic Pastes

Each paste is made the same way and may be made in small quantities.

  1. In the bowl of a mini-food processor, add 1 bulb of garlic, or 60 grams of fresh ginger root.
  2. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and blitz until a smooth paste forms. Add water as needed to loosen the mixture. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. These pastes last a week.

Kitchen Notes

Serve with basmati rice. The curry may be made in advance, refrigerated, and then reheated. Simply wait to fry the curry leaves used for garnish which may be fried while the sauce is reheating. Also, refrain from adding the shrimp until the curry is reheated piping hot and just before it is ready to be plated and served. We used large, 16 to 20 per pound shrimp. To tame the heat of the chilis, we also removed the seeds.
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