Prawn Puttu Recipe | Prawn Podimas | Eral Puttu | Minced Prawns Recipe

Soft well cooked rice, steaming hot sambar or a mildly spiced dal, prawn podimas or puttu as we call it and spicy fish fry as sides will make a finger licking lunch platter! This prawn puttu tastes almost like crab puttu but this is much easier. The minced prawn bits taste so succulent and along with the spices makes a very flavorful side-dish for rice along with any curries. You can make the same with shrimps also. To learn how to make fish puttu click here! 

INGREDIENTS

Serves 3 people
Total Preparation Time - 15 minutes 

1. Prawns - 300 grams 
2. Onions - 2 or 3 (big ones)
3. Green chillies - 2 
4. Ginger - 1/2 inch long piece 
5. Garlic - 2 pods 
6. Curry leaves - 3 tablespoons 
7. Chopped coriander leaves - 2 tablespoons  
8. Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon 
9. Peppercorns - 1 teaspoon 
10. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon 
11. Whole skinned black gram - 1 teaspoon (or 1/2 teaspoon)
12. Salt - 1.5 teaspoons (check and add more if needed) 
13. Oil - 40 ml 

PREPARATION METHOD

• Shell and de-vein prawns. Wash well and put inside a blender jar and grind just for a few seconds.  Remove from blender and set aside. 

• Crush or grind peppercorns and cumin seeds coarsely. 
• Now chop onions, green chillies and garlic finely and crush ginger. You can also chop ginger if you do not mind biting into them. 

• Now place a pan on flame and pour oil into it.
• After it heats up add mustard seeds, whole skinned black gram and saute until mustard seeds splutter well and black gram turns slightly brown. Now add crushed ginger, chopped garlic, chopped green chillies, and saute.

• Then add chopped onions and saute until it is half cooked. 
• Add salt, turmeric powder and saute until the raw smell leaves. Then add the coarsely ground pepper-cumin mix and stir. 

• Now add the ground prawn mixture and mix well, then using a flat ladle stir well and break the lumps. Mix it up well with the masala.
• Saute on a low flame for 3 to 4 minutes or until the prawns are done.

• Finally add the chopped coriander leaves and stir.

• Remove from flame and serve hot with rice. 

TIP 1: If you want to reduce the smell of prawns then while washing it add a teaspoon of vinegar mix we and then after a few minutes wash well in plenty of water. Adding salt and lemon also works. 

TIP 2: Reduce the amount of green chillies and peppercorns if serving kids.