Well I think it's safe to say that in 2022 the cuisine of the nation is extremely diverse. There are so many amazing cultures and flavours to delve into with you palate. But I think Indian food still holds a strong place in our hearts. This is a great recipe to explore something a bit different from your standard Korma or Chicken Tikka. To be Honest I had no idea what a Khichdi was until I started practising furiously for Masterchef. But I'm so glad I stumbled across a few recipes. Im still waiting to get a lesson on the perfect Khichdi from fellow contestant Bhavina, (@bitesbybeebs) until then this one does the trick. It's full of flavour and to be honest if you wanted to do the vegie option you could leave the prawns out altogether and just have the rice on its own as its packed with great flavour. There seems like a lot but once you have your prep done its all pretty much going in the pan and cooks away.
Just make sure if you serve it with a yoghurt dip that you mind the squeezy bottle!
This will serve 2 greedy people
8 Tiger Prawns, de shelled, deveined, tail on
1 cup / 165 g of basmati rice (washed)
glug of vegetable oil
2 tbsp of unsalted butter
1 tbsp of cumin seeds
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 thumb sized pieces ginger grated
1 medium red onion flinely diced
2 small green finger chilli's finely chopped or or 3 if you like it hot! just be careful
teaspoon of Turmeric
1 knorr veg stock cube made into 400ml
1 egg
3 tablespoons of cornflour
handfull of fresh chopped Coriander
veg oil (enough to half fill you pan)
3 tablespoons of greek yoghurt
Start by heating up the oil and butter in a pan, then add the Cumin seeds. As they splutter, add the garlic and fry for a minute or so over a medium/low heat making sure not to colour. Add the ginger, chilli and red onion and cook for 3 minutes to soften
Add the turmeric and rice and cook for 2 minutes longer. Pour in 400 ml of the warmed vegetable stock, bring to the boil, then cover and reduce the heat to very low (i put my hob on 2) and simmer for 11 minutes, take off the heat and leave for 10minutes with the lid still on
While the rice is finishing off start on the prawns. Make up a light batter with 1 Egg, beaten and the cornflour, add a tablespoon of the coriander, and if you want a bit of spice add some chilli powder ,and sprinkle of dried chilli flakes. Finish with some salt and a dash of ice-cold water to make a nice smooth batter (it will be quite runny)
Heat up your veg oil in a deep pan to 180 degrees (I use a Thermapen to check this)
Dip your prawns to coat them in the batter, then carefully in batches of 4 add them to the oil and cook for a couple of minutes until crispy and golden, then remove to some kitchen paper to drain any excess oil
Once the rice is done remove the lid fluff up with a fork and then stir in the 3 tablespoons of yoghurt, a good knob of butter and the fresh coriander.
Serve however you like. Be pretty and carefully put prawns on top of a tower of rice or bash it all on the plate! it tastes great either way, and its all about the eating right?
If you decide to make some herb chutney to have on the side simply mix some greek yoghurt with choice of chopped herbs, maybe mint and. coriander, a squeeze of lemon and bit of sugar and give it all a good mix and you're good to go. I usually stick it all in a food blender and then add a bit of mayonnaise at the end.
Enjoy
Sliver Fox
