Fish

Jhinga methi prawn recipe

Makes one sharing dish
Print Recipe

This delicious jhinga methi, prawn with fenugreek, recipe makes an ideal sharing dish. Serve with warm flatbreads for an Indian-inspired wellbeing night in. If you prefer, you could swap the prawns for chicken thigh meat (organic if you can). Just cook the chicken for five/ten minutes or so until nearly done, then finish off the cooking in the sauce.

We add cooling Greek yoghurt to this jhinga methi prawn recipe to add a creamy taste with plenty of gut-friendly benefits. Greek yoghurt contains an abundance of probiotics – essential for supporting our gut health.

Turmeric makes a star appearance in this recipe and for good reason. This vibrant spice is a staple in Indian cooking and is something of a wellbeing wonder. Turmeric has an active compound called ‘curcumin’. Studies show that this compounds exhibits many interesting properties – including antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity. It’s also thought to have cancer-fighting potential.

Interestingly, clinical signs of curcumin’s anticancer possibilities were shown in 1987 when researchers discovered that applying curcumin directly on the skin relieved symptoms of cancerous lesions in some patients. A review of trials in International Journal of Molecular Sciences in 2019 states “Curcumin has shown considerable anticancer effects against several different types of cancer, including prostate, breast, colorectal, pancreatic and head and neck cancer both in vitro and in vivo”.

Read more delicious recipes

Ingredients

  • Glug of groundnut oil or ghee
  • 2 brown onions, finely sliced
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tbsp very finely grated ginger
  • 1 tbsp very finely grated garlic
  • 1 medium tomato, chopped
  • 1 tbsp mild chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp gram flour (optional, to thicken the sauce slightly)
  • 1 tin of coconut milk
  • 400g shelled raw prawns
  • 2 tbsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek)
  • 2 tbsp thick Greek-style yoghurt
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 2 green chillies, sliced
  • Sea salt

Method

  1. Heat the oil or ghee in a large saucepan and gently cook the onions for about 10 minutes, until softening and starting to gently caramelise. Add the turmeric, cumin and coriander and stir for about 30 seconds before adding the grated ginger and garlic.
  2. Cook gently for a minute, stirring so the garlic doesn’t burn. Add a pinch of salt.
  3. Add the tomato and chilli powder and cook for another 10 minutes on a gentle heat until they release most of their juices. Stir in the gram flour if using, then gently pour in the coconut milk.
  4. Turn the heat up and bring to the boil, before reducing to a simmer and cooking for 10 minutes until the sauce is thick.
  5. Add the prawns and cook for five minutes, then stir in the dried fenugreek, crushing it in your fingers as it goes in the pan.
  6. Gently stir in the yoghurt and sprinkle on the garam masala and green chillies before serving.