Ghee Roast is a lip smacking delicacy from Mangalore, South India. The masala is unique and mouthwatering. You may add chicken, prawn/shrimp or paneer. Maybe even crunchy veggies. Each of them will absorb the spices and impart subtle flavors of their own. You may make this into a dry or a thick curry. My favorite will always remain the prawn/shrimp ghee roast.
This recipe is for prawn/shrimp should serve 6-8
Ingredients
Marinating prawns:
2 lb/1 kg raw jumbo prawn/shrimp shelled and deveined1/2 cup thick yogurt
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp white pepper powder
Salt to taste
Marinate the prawns, for about 30 minutes or chill overnight. You may insert toothpicks into the prawns to prevent them from curling, optional. Make sure you remove it before the cooked prawns are put into the ghee roast masala.
For the masala paste:
20 sundried Byadgi chillies or kashmiri chilies10 sundried spicy small red chilies
2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 whole garlic pod, peeled (About 10-12 garlic cloves)
4 cups red onion (Now this one, is ample for a thick finger-licking curry. Reducing this down to 1 cup will give you a dry instead)
2 tsp oil
Roast all the above ingredients in a high heated wok with oil, for a minute. Grind all of them with a little water, to make a fine paste.
1/2 cup ghee, dont skimp on this
1/4 cup vegetable oil
A sprig of curry leaves
1 tsp thick tamarind paste
Salt to taste
Pinch of sugar
Some chopped cilantro, for garnish
Method:
Once the prawns and marinated and masala has been ground to a fine paste, we cant get started.
In a wok, add oil; shallow fry the prawns until they are light pink and spongy. Never overcook the prawns. Remove them right away, drain and set aside.In the same wok, add in ghee and curry leaves. After a few seconds, add the ground masala and cook stirring constantly until the oil leaves the sides of the pan. Once the masala is deep red, and aromatic, add the tamarind paste, salt and sugar. If you have used toothpicks for your prawn, remove them and then add them into the ghee roast.
Cook on low heat for just two minutes. Turn it off. You may add a spoon of ghee to top it off. Garnish it with lemon and cilantro.
Serve with steamy rice, chapatis, dosa, or a simple onion biriyani. Enjoy!
