Prawn Koliwada – Masala Prawns Fry (Dishoom Inspired)

This is a perfectly spiced prawns koliwada (masala prawns fry recipe), inspired by dishoom (but not the dishoom recipe!). It is fried to perfection and served with a vibrant mint and coriander chutney. If you’re hosting for guests, this is a perfect starter to impress. 

Why this recipe is a star?

• Crispy fried prawns: As this is a prawns koliwada fry recipe, this dish is so deliciously crispy and has the perfect amount of masala to them.
• Perfect starter / appetizer: If you’re hosting guests then this is definitely a perfect indian prawns starter to serve. Pair it with some vibrant mint-coriander chutney and it is a perfect dip.
• Easy prawn masala recipe: This recipe is a case of marinating your prawns in some spices and chucking them into the fry pan for a shallow or deep fry. Its that simple, after all this is an ‘easy south asian recipes’ blog.

Prawn Koliwada origin?

Although originating from Sion (a village in Maharashtra), prawns koliwada is a dish that was popularised in Mumbai.

Punjabi families originating from Sion, settled in Mumbai during the Indian-Pakistani partition and in that process bought the excellence of this dish over to the city.

The story goes that the dish was first served in a restaurant called Hazara (located in Sion) by Hukamchand Singh Julka, who also founded the restaurant.

Its no surprise that the dish is a shellfish recipe as Sion itself is located along the coast and is known for being a famous fishermans village, containing plenty of seafood restaurants. The name of the dish itself ‘Prawns Koliwada’, takes its inspiration from the name of the town, ‘Sion Koliwada’.

What is prawns koliwada?

It is a prawns dish that is marinated in various spices (but don’t fret as it’s not too hot), lemon or lime juice, garlic and ginger paste which is mixed with chickpea flour (besan) and fried for a beautiful crisp.

Prawns koliwada is traditionally served as a dry recipe, but head over to my chicken lollipops or indo-chinese dragon prawns if you want some inspiration for perfect gravy ideas.

Ingredients?

• Prawns: Use fresh king prawns! Keep the ends of the prawn on for that nice aesthetic look to the prawns. Ensure you deshell and devein your prawns beforehand.
• Spices and powders: Use a teaspoon of the following: turmeric, chilli powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, coriander powder, curry powder, garlic powder and onion powder.
• Curry leaves: Optional and you can use either fresh or dried curry leaves. Really adds another dimension of flavour to your dish.
• Pastes: Fresh or ready-made garlic and ginger paste (I used a tsp of ready-made garlic and ginger paste).
• The juice of half of a lemon or lime: Use the juice of half of a lemon or lime, either will work. It is also delicious to squeeze some lemon or lime juice over the top of the cooked prawns.
• Flours: Around two tablespoons of chickpea (besan) flour and a tsp of cornstarch. The cornstarch is not used in traditional recipes, but it will make it extra crisp, so not to be missed!

For the mint chutney use a handful of mint, coriander and chilli, blend together with water or oil and mix the blended mixture in with some yoghurt.

Step by step instructions

1. To your de-shelled and deveined prawns, add in your spices, pastes, curry leaves, lime juice and flours.
2. Give that a really good mix and let that marinate. You can marinate for as long as you have time for, to be honest!
3. Heat up oil in a pan (vegetable oil or canola oil) and once heated fry your prawns on either side for around two minutes until the prawns are visibly crispy.
4. Carefully remove the prawns from the frying pan and lay to rest on a rack for around ten minutes.

Note: Try not to move the prawns while they are being fried as it is likely that the batter will slide off of them.