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pepper prawns(shrimp) curry(Sri Lankan)

Pepper prawns(shrimp)curry.

This pepper prawn(shrimp) curry with ingredients like ginger-garlic and coconut milk gives this seafood recipe wonderful flavors to enjoy.

It’s a dish to try out on curry nights when you have a few friends that are feeling adventurous with their food.

Once you’ve cleaned and deveined the prawns, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to make this black pepper prawn(shrimp) recipe.

You can make this dry pepper prawn curry quicker by using pre-cleaned or even frozen prawns.

black pepper prawns(shrimp)loaded into a bowl.

I hate cleaning prawns, I really do, want to know why? 

It’s because of the sheer amount of Prawns that needs to be cleaned in one go.

The only good thing about this whole cleaning business is that I’ve become good at it.

And since I kind of become a reluctant expert prawn cleaner, I’ll just leave a few of my methods(tips) of getting it done more efficiently as well as a few other tips, just in case you had to do this for a large crowd or party.

Enjoy!

The first thing to figure out is how much prawns you would need for each serving.

How to choose the right-sized prawns(shrimp).

There are three sizes to choose from small, medium and jumbo.

For serving large crowds I would recommend choosing medium or jumbo-sized prawns.

How many Prawns per person for parties?

Unless you are allergic to seafood, everyone loves Prawns with or without shells.

Be kind to your guests or family and serve more. The minimum per person for jumbo prawns would be 8. if they are medium in size, 10.

How many Prawns in a Kilo?

On average,

30-35 Prawns per kilo if they are large. 40-50 prawns per kilo if they are medium in size. These figures might slightly vary.

I do the cleaning in two stages, to keep it simple.

Before you devein the prawns, you will need three large bowls or pans, place one bowl with all the prawns in your sink under running water.

Once this is done, drain the prawns and wash once and place them back in the pan for the next stage of cleaning.

How to devein large amounts of Prawns.

The easy way.

The method of inserting a toothpick into gaps between the shell of the prawn and pulling out the icky stuff works and this is how you do it.

  1. remove the head of the Prawn and clean the shallow cavity.
  2. To clean the vein that runs along the spine, gently bend the prawn, once you bend it, find the gap between the shell where you can get to the fleshy part.
  3. Use a toothpick but a small cocktail fork works better, insert it into the gap and pull out the vein.
  4. It might take you a few minutes to get the rhythm of it but you will.

 

Should I keep the head and legs on?

My last recipe for Prawns cooked in coconut milk received a few interesting comments on another food sharing platform because I left the legs(is it legs or tentacles?)on.

I believe the best of the flavors are in the parts that you might be inclined to throw.

There is a reason you’ll find them used in broths and bisque, including shrimp paste

This is my personal preference, I like to use the head to soak the gravy and slurp on it.

If you still feel you are not comfortable having the legs while you cook the Prawns then please remove them.

When it comes to the skin, I would recommend leaving it on so they don’t overcook.

Now that the cleaning details are over,

How long does it take to cook the Prawns?

Prawns take less than 5 minutes to cook and you’ll know they are done when they turn Pink in colour. This is why I’ve made the gravy first, reduced it by half and then added the Prawns.

Please make sure to read the recipe instruction to avoid mistakes.

Save the recipe to your favorite Pinterest board!

Tasty Sri Lankan pepper prawns(shrimp)curry to make for your seafood themed dinner parties.

Utensils and appliances needed.

Chopping board and knife

Large bowl to marinate the prawns.

Large frying pan or skillet to make the black pepper prawn curry.

More prawn(shrimp) recipes!

Sri Lankan devilled prawns

Sri Lankan prawn curry cooked in coconut milk.

Caramelized garlic prawn stir-fry

Prawn head fries.

Sri Lankan Jaffna curry powder prawn curry.

Storing– use glass containers or old plastic containers to store the black pepper prawn curry as it will stain the containers, refrigerate nd consume within 2 days.

Freezing– avoid freezing.

Heating– heat the dish using a microwave and a teaspoon of water, make sure to use a microwave cover. you can also heat the prawn curry with a few teaspoons of water over a stovetop. 

Stop food waste by– making seafood fried rice with leftover rice.

The following rating of“little care needed” was given to this recipe, because of the difficulty if you are doing the cleaning and deveining the prawns by yourself which would take time.

Making the black pepper prawn curry is easy with ingredients that are easy to find or you might already have in your kitchen if you make curries quite often.

How to make pepper prawn curry

(Sri Lankan).

700g of deveined, cleaned and washed Prawns

In a bowl mix two tablespoons of vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of Salt to marinade the Prawns

3 tablespoons of Oil

1 sprig of curry leaves

2 medium-sized onions sliced fine

4 pods of garlic crushed.

2 tablespoons of ginger paste

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric

2 tablespoons of curry powder

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of fresh ground Black pepper 

1/2 a cup of Coconut milk

Salt to taste

Method

Marinating for pepper Prawns

Place the washed and cleaned prawns(700g) in a large bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix. 

Marinate the prawns(shrimp) for at least 15-20 minutes.

Place a pan over medium heat, heat it for a minute and pour in the oil(3 tbs) followed by the curry leaves(a sprig) and sliced onions(2 medium).

onions, garlic, ginger , curry leaves sauteing in a pan with a few table spoons of oil.

Cook until the onions turn translucent, this would take two to three minutes.

While continuously stirring, reduce heat and mix in the garlic(4 pods minced) and ginger paste(2 tbs), turmeric(1/2 tsp), curry powder(2 tbs), sugar(2 tbs), black pepper(2 tbs) to make a thick paste.

Cook for 2 minutes making sure that the paste doesn’t burn.

adding the pepper powder, turmeric and curry powder to the onion to make a spice paste for the pepper prawns.

Pour in the coconut milk(1/2 cup) and stir in the curry paste until you have a thick gravy.

Check the taste of the gravy and season if necessary, cook the gravy until it reduces by half and turns dark in color.

adding coconut milk to the spice paste to make the pepper prawn curry.

Once the gravy has thickened and reduced, add the prawns and cook for 5 minutes under low heat. 

adding the cleaned prawns to the pepper sauce to make the pepper prawns(shrimp) curry.

Serve warm over rice or enjoy as it is. 

cooked pepper prawns(shrimp) in a skillet.
pepper prawn curry.

black pepper prawn(shrimp) curry.

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

A rich, black gravy made with crushed black pepper, ginger, garlic and Coconut milk.

It’s a dish to try out on curry nights when you have a few friends that are feeling adventurous with their food.

Ingredients

  • Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.
  • 700g of deveined, cleaned and washed Prawns
  • In a bowl mix two tablespoons of vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of Salt to marinade the Prawns
  • 3 tablespoons of oil
  • 1 sprig of curry leaves
  • 2 medium-sized onions sliced fine
  • 4 pods of garlic crushed
  • 2 tablespoons of ginger paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
  • 2 tablespoons of curry powder
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh ground Black pepper
  • 1/2 a cup of Coconut milk
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

Marinating the Prawns

Place the washed and cleaned prawns(700g) in a large bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix. 

Marinate the prawns(shrimp) for at least 15-20 minutes.

 

Place a pan over medium heat, heat it for a minute and pour in the oil(3 tbs) followed by the curry leaves(a sprig) and sliced onions(2 medium).

Cook until the onions turn translucent, this would take two to three minutes.

While continuously stirring, reduce heat and mix in the garlic(4 pods minced) and ginger paste(2 tbs), turmeric(1/2 tsp), curry powder(2 tbs), sugar(2 tbs), black pepper(2 tbs) to make a thick paste.

Cook for 2 minutes making sure that the paste doesn’t burn.

Pour in the coconut milk(1/2 cup) and stir in the curry paste until you have a thick gravy.

Check the taste of the gravy and season if necessary, cook the gravy until it reduces by half and turns dark in color.

Once the gravy has thickened and reduced, add the prawns and cook for 5 minutes under low heat. 

Serve warm over rice or enjoy as it is.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Each recipe on this blog has been written with great care and love to the best of my ability with you in mind.
It’s free and on the blog, for you to try anytime.

All I ask is that you do not save it on any apps, recipe boxes or online groups which will affect me as a food blogger and the growth of this blog. 

I would appreciate if you only share the link rather than the full recipe. 

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K

Tuesday 26th of January 2021

Made this tonight! It was so good. Thank you! Only tweak was I Didn’t have curry powder so added red chili powder and Dhaniya mix. Came out really good!

jehan

Wednesday 27th of January 2021

Hello K, Thank you for your patience and apologies for the late reply. Glad you loved it and you are most welcome. Most of my readers go through comments as well so your suggestions to substitute curry powder will definitely come in handy to someone out there. Stay safe and best regards, J

Brian Lageose

Monday 20th of February 2017

This looks deliciously yummy!

jehan

Monday 20th of February 2017

Hi Brian, Thank you. fyi, I've somehow blocked myself from my wordpress.com and unable to read any of your post. need to find a way back in. miss reading your work.

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