Kolmi na kavaab (Parsee-style prawn kebabs)
These are very simple to make in the food processor. Best served with tomato sauce, or as we call it, tamota ni giroby. If you don’t have time to make it, you could serve with a shop-bought green chutney or ketchup.
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce
- 2–3 tbsp oil
- 6³¦³¾/2½¾±²Ô cinnamon stick, broken into 2
- 4–5 dried red chillies, broken into pieces and seeds removed
- 2–3 onions, finely chopped
- 2.5cm/1in piece root ginger, finely chopped
- 4–5 garlic cloves, finely crushed
- 2–3 green chillies, slit, seeds removed (optional)
- 500g–600g/1Ib 2oz–1lb 5oz tomatoes, finely chopped or pulped in the blender (or use 450g passata)
- 1–2 tbsp vinegar (such as cider vinegar or cane vinegar)
- 1 tbsp (or 5cm/2in piece) raw cane sugar, such as jaggery or muscovado
- 1 tbsp tamarind pulp
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- salt, to taste
For the prawn kebabs
- oil for frying, plus 1 tbsp oil to grease your palms
- 2 red onions, chopped
- 5–6 slender green chillies, stems removed and cut into pieces
- handful fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
- 5–6 large garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2.5 cm/1in piece root ginger, washed and cut into small pieces
- 12–15 fresh mint leaves
- 400g/14oz raw prawns, roughly peeled and deveined
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- ½ heaped tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 slices white bread, edges removed and cut into small pieces
- ½ tsp garam masala (optional)
Method
For the tomato sauce, heat the oil in a pan until it gets a light haze and then fry the cinnamon.
When it changes colour, add the broken red chillies until they also darken in colour. (Keep your nose away from the pan as the frying chillies may cause you to cough and splutter.)
As soon as the chillies get darker, add the onions, ginger and garlic and fry on a medium heat until the onions become pale and soft.
For a hot sauce, add the green chillies at this stage. For a milder sauce, omit this step.
As soon as the onions become soft and pale, add the tomato pulp and continue cooking on a medium-low heat. Add the vinegar, sugar and tamarind pulp and simmer the sauce for about 15 minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent sticking and burning. You can add more water if the sauce thickens too much.
Check the consistency and cook it to the desired thickness – it needs to be of pouring consistency, but not too thick.
Season with salt, to taste, and add the chopped coriander. Stir well taste again and turn off the heat. This sauce is suitable as an accompaniment for most fried things. Transfer to a jar and set aside while you make the prawn kebabs.
For the prawn kebabs, pour the oil in a shallow pan, until it comes about 2cm/¾in up the sides. Turn the heat on to low while you prepare the other ingredients – keep a careful watch over the pan.
Add the onion, green chilli, coriander, garlic, ginger and mint to a food processor and process to chop them down. Scrape down around the bowl of the food processor and process again in a few bursts until broken into tiny fragments
Add all the remaining ingredients and chop for half a minute or so until the prawns are broken into tiny pieces but not minced down completely.
Remove and mix well in another bowl with a spatula.
Take a tiny bit of the mixture and fry it in the hot oil to check for seasoning. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Apply a little oil to your palms, take a spoonful of the mixture and form it into a ball. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, then flatten each ball slightly to make a small patty. (If preferred you can leave them round – the shape is for you to decide.)
Fry the kebabs in batches over a medium-high heat. Fry on each side for 2–3 minutes until cooked through. Once they're ready, remove to kitchen paper to drain while you do the next batch.
Repeat until the mixture is used up, but do not add too many of the kebabs into the oil at the same time as it will cool down too much and start to froth, and the kebabs will get oily.
Serve the kebabs hot with the tomato sauce. Any remaining sauce can be set aside in the fridge to serve with another dish.
Recipe Tips
You can replace the finely chopped or blended tomatoes for 450g/1lb passata if preferred for the tomato sauce.
