By Jehan Yusoof  |  Updated September 21, 2026  | ★ (be the first to rate this recipe — see the rating-ask line below) |  11 Comments.

Sri Lankan prawn curry, or what some of you may know as a shrimp curry, is a seafood curry with delicious, addictive flavours you can cook in under 30 minutes.
Seasoned with curry powder, turmeric, red chilli powder, and pepper, mixed in with onions and curry leaves, this quick and easy prawn curry recipe is an authentic Sri Lankan curry you’ll want to make again and again
The prawn curry is light yet filling enough to serve any time of the day.

If you try this, I’d love to know how it turned out; a quick rating or comment really helps other readers decide what to cook.

Tips and suggestions for cooking the Prawn curry

• You can cook the prawns with or without the shell or use frozen shrimp to make the recipe.
• Pay attention to the flavours of the coconut milk and curry powder-based gravy; each ingredient added to this prawn dish is intentional.
• Once you’ve made the coconut milk prawn curry, I encourage you to experiment with the quantity of curry powder you add and try different brands for your perfectly balanced gravy.
• For a thicker gravy, use thick, liquid coconut milk instead of coconut milk powder. The latter is good for an emergency, but I find it gives a really thin gravy compared to the liquid coconut milk.
• Cook the gravy until the colour changes to a darker brown.
• As the coconut milk gravy reduces and thickens, taste and adjust the salt. The flavour concentrates as the liquid cooks down
• When to add the prawns to the coconut milk gravy.
  • Prawns take less than 10 to 12 minutes to cook, and they continue to cook with the remaining heat. Keep this in mind.
  • Once the gravy is thick and reduced, add the prawns and cook for just under 15 minutes over low-medium heat.
  • If you are cooking prawns without the shell, then reduce the cooking time to just under 12 minutes. this will keep your prawns tender and less rubbery from overcooking.

Ingredients to cook the Sri Lankan prawn curry

• The ingredients mentioned below are used in standard measuring cups and spoons.
  • Prawns, cleaned and deveined(with shell on or without shell)
  • Coconut oil(any type of light oil available to you)
  • Lime juice(substitute with Lemon juice)
  • Large onion, sliced or finely chopped
  • Whole green chillies, split
  • Cinnamon stick
  • Grated or minced ginger
  • A handful of curry leaves(substitute with a bay leaf)
  • Garlic, sliced or minced as well
  • Lemon stalk, cut and the stem bruised to release aroma
  • Turmeric powder
  • Curry powder(use a regular roasted or unroasted curry powder that is available to you)
  • Red chilli powder(increase as per your need)
  • Salt to season as needed
  • Thick coconut milk(refer to notes on best tips above for recommendations)
  • Optional ingredients
  • Large tomato, chopped
  • Pepper powder(reduce if needed)

What you will need in the kitchen

• Chopping board/knife
• Medium-sized bowl to marinate the prawns
• Large frying pan to cook the prawns
• Wooden spoon
• Serving dish and spoon

PHOTO TUTORIAL

Cooking the Sri Lankan Prawn Curry (Step-by-Step)

Cleaning and deveining the prawns

• Pull out the heads of the prawns and wash off the yellow matter attached.
• There are two ways you can devein shrimp.
  • The first step would be to make a long slit from the head of the prawn to the middle of its spine and pull out the black vein; this also makes it easy for you to remove the shell while eating.
  • The second step would be to insert a toothpick along the spine of the prawn and pull out the vein.
  • These two posts on how to properly thaw frozen shrimp and how to clean shrimp can come in handy.

Marinating the Prawns

Rinse the prawns with a pinch of Turmeric.
In a bowl, marinate the prawns with lime juice and a pinch of salt for 15-20 minutes.

Making the prawn curry spice paste

While the prawns marinate, place a pan over low heat and pour in the oil.
Add the curry leaves, the piece of cinnamon, minced ginger and garlic; cook for a few seconds, then add the sliced onions and green chilli.
Mix and cook for 2 minutes until they become slightly brown.
Add Turmeric powder, curry powder, and red chilli powder; combine for a few seconds and season with salt.
Cook over medium heat until the ingredients come together as a thick paste, making sure not to burn the spices.
Reduce heat if necessary.

Cooking the Prawns

Pour in the thick coconut milk and let it simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the gravy reaches a thick consistency.
Taste the coconut milk gravy and season with salt if needed.
(Please refer to tips and suggestions above to know when to add the prawns)
Once the gravy thickens, drain the marinating prawns and add them to the coconut milk gravy.
Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let the prawns simmer in the coconut milk for 10 minutes, or until cooked through (see the best tips for more notes on cooking time).
Serve with rice and your favourite vegetable curries.

What to serve with Sri Lankan prawn curry

• Serve with any of your favourite rice recipes or even a simple steaming bowl of rice
  • Coconut rice.
  • Easy lemon rice recipe.
  • How to cook rice on the stove
  • Sri Lankan Yellow Rice(turmeric rice)
  • ghee rice(nei choru).

• Vegetarian side dishes to serve with prawn curry
• Sri Lankan Beetroot curry (Beetroot theldala)
• Spicy green beans stir-fry(bonchi thel dala)
• Sri Lankan fried eggplant/brinjal salad
• Spinach and coconut stir-fry(nivithi mallung)
• Gotu kola(pennywort salad)sambol

• Serve with any type of bread or flatbread, including string hoppers, hoppers, to pittu.
  • Sri Lankan Roast Paan(thati paan)
  • How to make poori(deep-fried Indian bread)
  • Garlic Naan recipe without yeast.

More ways to cook prawns

• Devilled prawns(Sri Lankan, shrimp devil)
• Sri Lankan Jaffna curry powder prawn curry
• pepper prawns(shrimp) curry(Sri Lankan)
• Air fryer shrimp

Storage, Freezing and Reheating guide.

• Storing in the refrigerator
  • Leftovers can be stored in an airtight glass container. Avoid using your new plastic containers as they may stain.
  • Refrigerate the curry once it is cold.
• Freezing
  • You can freeze the curry for 3 to 4 days, but I wouldn’t advise freezing cooked seafood as the texture and taste may change when it reaches room temperature.
• Reheating
  • Always reheat the prawn curry on the stovetop; I wouldn’t recommend the microwave, since the curry’s aroma can linger for days.
• Stop food waste by
  • Leftover gravy can turn into breakfast; just use slices of bread to mop up the gravy.
  • You can also mix the gravy with some cooked ramen noodles for a curried noodle dish.

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Sri Lankan prawn curry (Isso curry in 30 minutes)

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Sri Lankan prawn curry or what some of you may know as a shrimp curry.

A seafood curry with delicious, addictive flavours you can cook in under 30 minutes.

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Ingredients

• The ingredients mentioned below are used in standard measuring cups and spoons.
• 500g of prawns cleaned and deveined(with shell on or without shell)
• 4 tablespoons of Coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice(substitute with Lemon juice)
• 1 large onion sliced or chopped fine
• 1 to 2 whole green chillies split
• 2″ piece of cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons of grated or minced ginger
• A handful of curry leaves(substitute with a bay leaf)
• 4 finely sliced garlic(can be minced as well)
• 1 lemon stalk cut and the stem bruised to release aroma
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon of curry powder(use a regular roasted or unroasted curry powder that is available to you).
• 2 teaspoons of red chilli powder(increase as per your need)
• Salt to season as needed
• 1 cup of thick coconut milk(refer to notes on best tips above for recommendations).
• Optional ingredients
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper powder(reduce if needed)

Instructions

How to clean and devein shrimp.

1. Pull out the heads of the prawns and wash the yellow matter attached.
2. There are two ways you can devein shrimp.
3. The first step would be to make a long slit from the head of the prawn to the middle of its spine and pull out the black vein, this also makes it easy for you to remove the shell while eating.
4. The second step would be to insert a toothpick along the spine of the prawn and pull out the vein.
5. These two posts on how to properly thaw frozen shrimp and how to clean shrimp can come in handy.

1. Rinse the prawns with a pinch of Turmeric.
2. In a bowl, marinate the prawns with lime juice and a pinch of salt for 15-20 minutes.
   While the prawns marinate, place a pan over low heat and pour in the oil.
3. Add the curry leaves, the piece of cinnamon, minced ginger and garlic; cook for a few seconds, then add the sliced onions and green chilli.
4. Mix and cook for 2 minutes until they become slightly brown.
5. Add Turmeric powder, curry powder, and red chilli powder; combine for a few seconds and season with salt.
6. Cook over medium heat until the ingredients come together as a thick paste, making sure not to burn the spices.
7. Reduce heat if necessary.
8. Pour in the thick coconut milk and let it simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the gravy reaches a thick consistency.
9. Taste the coconut milk gravy and season with salt if needed.
10. (Please refer to tips and suggestions above to know when to add the prawns)
11. Once the gravy thickens, drain the marinating prawns and add them to the coconut milk gravy.
12. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let the prawns simmer in the coconut milk for 10 minutes, or until cooked through (see the best tips for more notes on cooking time).
13. Serve with rice and your favourite vegetable curries.
    I'd love to know how it turned out.
    Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and a comment; I read every one — it helps other visitors trust the recipe and helps them find me too.

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Nutritional information on islandsmile is provided as a courtesy. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on the site. these figures should only be considered as estimates.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 469Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 285mgSodium: 1411mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 5gSugar: 4gProtein: 39g

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JEHAN
Recipe creator. Food Blogger. Video creator
I’ve been cooking and sharing Sri Lankan recipes, along with other dishes I love making at home on Island Smile since 2015. I’ve tested every recipe on this site more than once in my own kitchen before it goes on the blog.
I grew up eating this food, and I still cook it the way my family taught me, just written down clearly enough for you to follow.
If a recipe doesn’t work the way I say it will, tell me in the comments; I read every one, and I’ll help you fix it.