Prawns/Shrimp Pickle

One more pickle recipe from my mom in law. She usually make it with fish, but she said prawns can also be made in the same way. If I say I love this pickle, it will be an understatement, because I can literally live on this pickle. Since I always get parcels from mummy, I’ve never tried to make it my own. But last week I was left with empty bottles and after being pampered with home made pickles I didn’t feel like buying ready made ones. Since I was making it for the first time I was a bit apprehensive, but to my luck it came out well without much hiccups :)

Hope you too will like it and this is more easy compared to the lemon pickle recipe. For me, the only time consuming part was the cleaning of prawns.

1. Boneless king Fish/prawns-  1 kg
2. To marinate-
   Kashmiri chilly powder – 2 teaspoon
   Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
   Salt
3. Ginger sliced – 1 tablespoon
   Garlic sliced – 1 tablespoon
   Green chilly chopped  1 teaspoon
   Curry leaves
4. Ginger garlic paste – 1 tablespoon
   Kashmiri chilly powder  – 2 tablespoon
   Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon
5. Salt
6. Mustard seed – 1 teaspoon
   Fenugreek seed – 1 teaspoon
7. Vinegar -  ½ – 1 cup
8. Oil
   Water – 1/2 – 3/4 cup (boiled & cooled)

Marinate the cleaned fish/prawns with number 2 ingredients and keep for half an hour. Heat oil in a pan & fry the fish/prawns. Keep it aside.

Heat oil in another pan and add mustard & fenugreek seeds. When it crackles add ginger sliced, garlic sliced and green chilly chopped & curry leaves and fry till it becomes brown. Keep it aside. Add ginger garlic paste to the same pan & fry it till it becomes brown. Add chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt. Fry the masala till its done and the oil starts appearing. Add 3-4 tbsp of water. Mix well and after a minute add fried fish/prawns, fried ginger & garlic slices & chopped green chilly & vinegar. Let it boil. If you want more gravy, add 3-4 tbsp water. Boil it for 5 more minutes. Do a taste check and ad more salt & vinegar, if required. Remove from fire & let it cool completely.

Store it in airtight container and pour the remaining fried oil over the top of the pickle.

Notes: If you’re making this recipe with fish, cut it into bite size pieces. I used sunflower oil. You can use sesame oil (nallenna), corn oil etc;  When you add vinegar, start with 1/2 cup and add more, after doing a taste check. Keep in mind that that it will take time for the flavor to settle in. This is a spicy recipe, please adjust the ingredient measurements to suit your taste.

If you are planning to keep it for a long time, its better to refrigerate it. Also if you’re living in a hot & humid climate, refrigeration is strongly recommended. Though you can start using it the day it’s made, its better to keep it for 1-2 days for the flavor to settle in. Make sure that you use only boiled & cooled water.

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MariasMenu is a popular food blog written by Maria Jose with its no nonsense simple, tasty and delicious recipes – all tried and tested by readers, family and friends alike. Read more about Maria and her venture.