Mom’s Shrimp/Prawn Konkani Coconut Curry (Sungta Ambat)

Enough has already been written on the subject of Shrimp v/s. Prawns here. Biological differences notwithstanding, from a culinary perspective, both shrimp and prawn are the same and the terms are used interchangeably. That being said, none of the shrimp or prawns I’ve had the pleasure of tasting ever stood up to the black tiger prawns that are commonly available in India.

For the purpose of this recipe, any of the widely available variants of shrimp or prawns will do. One of the most important ingredients of this recipe is the spice “teppal”/”tirpal” — Sichuan Spice. As of this writing, I have not been able to locate this spice in any store in South Florida. I got my stash from India. If you don’t have this spice, I suggest you don’t attempt to prepare this curry. The distinct konkani flavor of this curry cannot be duplicated by any other spice. It’s not worth the trouble.

Now that all the disclaimers are out of the way, here we go –

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of raw, deveined shrimp, tail off

• 2 cups of shredded coconut

• 15 dry red chillies

• 20 cloves of teppal/tirpal/Sichuan Spice

• 100 grams of raw tamarind

• Salt to taste

Preparation Method:

• Soak the tamrind in one cup of warm water and set aside.

• Soak the teppal in another cup of warm water and set aside.

• Blend shreded coconut and red chillies with some water in a mixer. Once done, heat the blend at medium flame on a conventional stove for 30 minutes.

• Add salt, tamrind paste and soaked teppal and bring the mixture to boil. Add shrimp and heat till the shrimp is cooked.

Serving Instructions:

Serve with steamed white rice and mango pickle (on a banana leaf, if available)