Day 42: A PCP foodie accomplishment

I don't want to blow my own trumpet, but toot toot toot!!

We had friends over for dinner last night and I made the best prawn curry I've ever made.

I think the secret to a good curry is taking your time and not rushing it. That's the best way to get the full depth of flavour out of the ingredients.

The great thing is, and this is probably what made it such an accomplishment, it's got no salt whatsoever and hardly any oil. So it is of course PCP friendly.

I know it looks a bit "swampy" in the picture but these really don't do it justice! And anyway it's the taste that matters.

Here's how to make it:

2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Small amount of ginger or 1 teaspoon of powdered ginger
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 shallots
2 small Cyprus aubergines chopped roughly into squares (these are about 6 inches long)
50grams fat free Greek yoghurt (optional)
1 tablespoon tamarind paste or lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
300 grams king prawns
1 bay leaf
Bunch of fresh coriander for serving

[These are rough measurements as the bare minimum of ingredients you should use, but do experiment with them according taste. I normally add more than this in terms of spices.

Also, the honey is added to balance out the sourness of the tamarind/lemon juice. So add this according to your taste.

The curry should be sweet and sour with a kick of heat!]

Put a tiny amount of olive oil in a heavy based pan and coat the cut aubergine in the garam masala. Once the oil is hot, cook the spiced aubergine for about 15 minutes or until the skin is tender.

Whilst this is cooking on a low heat. Put the coriander seeds, cumin, peppercorns, cayenne pepper, paprika and turmeric in a spice grinder or mill and grind as finely as possible.

Add the crushed/chopped ginger and garlic and about 4 tablespoons of water to make a paste. Stir and set aside.

Once the aubergine is cooked add the finely chopped shallots and stir fry until the shallots are translucent. Add the spice mix. Stir fry for 2 minutes.

Now add 150 ml water cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer vigorously for 10 minutes.

Add the bay leaf. Add the yogurt and the tamarind/lemon juice and honey. The yoghurt might curdle slightly but this is fine, once the curry is taken off the heat it won’t be noticeable.

Mix well then simmer again. Add the prawns and stir frequently until cooked.

Remove the bay leaves. Serve. Garnish with the fresh coriander. Done!


If you want you can add an egg/egg white portion to the curry too. The curry should end up with a thin consistency and normally soaked up with rice but broccoli or cauliflower are no-carb substitutes.

Yum!

Oh! And my friend’s wedding was great! Thanks for all your advice guys. I really appreciate your comments.

Dinner was much easier than I expected, a lot of rocket salad and balsamic vinegar and roasted veg as the veggie option, which I ate happily. I steered clear of anything which was too heavy, sugary or calorific.

And the wedding cake? Well it was gorgeous and knowing my friend I knew it would be chocolate rather than the traditional fruit cake.

Here's what it looked like. Nice huh?

I was told it was tasty too but I was happy to appreciate it aesthetically.