Nadan Chemmeen Thoran (Kerala Style Prawns Stir Fry)

Nadan Chemmeen Thoran (Kerala Style Prawns Stir Fry)

Kerala has a lot of varieties of seafood dishes and the mix of coconut with prawns is one of the specialties.  Chemmeen Thoran or Konju Thoran can be easily prepared and is a good side dish for rice. Seafood lovers can take it as it is also.

Step 1 (Preparing coconut mix for chemmeen thoran)

Ingredients

• Fresh Coconut Scraped – 1/2 cup
• Fennel Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Chilli Powder – 1 tbsp
• Black Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp

Preparation

Coarse grind coconut, fennel powder, chilli powder and pepper powder without adding water. Keep it aside.

Step 2 (Preparing tempering for chemmeen thoran)

Ingredients

• Shallots – 1 cup (thin long cuts)
• Fresh Coconut – 1/2 cup (chopped)
• Green Chilli – 2 to 3 nos (finely chopped)
• Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp
• Coconut Oil – 2 tbsp
• Curry Leaves – few

Preparation

Heat a pan and add coconut oil to it. Add mustard seeds when the oil is hot. When the seeds start popping, add chopped coconut and saute till the colour changes to light brown. Now add shallots, green chilli, pinch of salt and few curry leaves. Saute till onion turns light brown. Turn off the flame and keep aside.

Step 3 (Cooking prawns and preparing thoran)

Ingredients

• Prawns – 500 gms (cleaned)
• Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – as needed
• Water – 2 to 3 tbsp
• Curry Leaves – few

Preparation

Cook prawns along with turmeric powder, water and curry leaves. Add salt as needed. When the prawns are cooked well (make sure that there is little water left in it), add the ground mix (Step 1), prepared shallot mix (Step 2) and some curry leaves. Cover and cook for few minutes till no water is left in it and becomes dry. Open and mix well. After mixing well, cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more(stir in between to not to get burned). Turn off the flame, stir once more and chemmeen thoran is ready to serve. Try it with rice !!!

Refer detailed step by step cooking video below: