Easy Prawn Jalfrezi is a quick and healthy way to satisfy your mid-week takeaway craving! Made with tinned tomatoes, peppers and as much chilli as you can handle!
Quick and Healthy Prawn Curry
I love a good curry, but I usually find it such a heavy meal! Flavourful but thick, creamy sauce, lots of rice and side dishes (never say no to some vegetable pakora!) plus Naan dripping in garlic and coriander butter. Not that any of those things are bad, but it’s not designed to be on the menu every night of the week.
So what to do when you get a craving for those delicious curry flavours, but you don’t want to go all out? This easy Prawn Jalfrezi curry is the perfect answer! Light but full of flavour, this is a quick and healthy shrimp curry which is super easy to whip up at home. It takes less than 30 minutes to cook too.
What is Jalfrezi?
Jalfrezi is a type of curry originating in Bengal. Traditionally it consists of a protein – meat, fish or paneer, which is stir-fried and then served in a delicious spicy sauce or gravy. While the sauce is rich and flavourful, it is much lighter than some other curries which are popular here in the UK, since it doesn’t contain any heavy cream or coconut milk.
Apparently the recipe was created as a way to use up leftovers, which is always a great idea in my book! The main ingredients – peppers, onions, spices and tinned tomatoes – are things I tend to always keep to hand in my fridge or pantry. And I usually keep a stash of frozen prawns handy too.
This is not in any way a traditional recipe – simply my take. Jalfrezi is known as a particularly spicy curry, and usually contains a lot of of green chilli. You can make Jalfrezi with many different proteins too – it’s particularly great with chicken if you’re not a fan of prawns.
How to make the Jalfrezi Curry Sauce
Make the sauce by frying some onion and chilli. Then add some spices (cumin, ground coriander and turmeric) before adding the chopped peppers, garlic and ginger. Pour over a tin of chopped tomatoes plus a pinch of sugar and a little water, then simmer to create a rich and spicy curry sauce. Add the prawns to warm through, then serve with a sprinkle of fresh coriander and your choice of sides.
What to serve with Easy Prawn Jalfrezi
I love this dish served simply over some plain rice, with or without a Naan or flatbread dripping in garlic and coriander on the side. (Who am I KIDDING, Naan is always involved.) A simple salad is also a good idea – an Indian Kachumber with tomato and cucumber would be perfect. You could also use cauliflower rice or serve with Bombay Potatoes.
Homemade Flatbread
If you want to whip up some homemade flatbreads to go with your Prawn Jalfrezi, these Easy Yoghurt Flatbreads are a great shout. Prep the dough before you begin making the curry, and you can cook them off while it’s simmering. These Gluten Free Rotis are also a great choice, especially if you are GF and/or dairy free!
Mix a little melted butter or oil with some diced garlic and fresh coriander and drizzle over warm flatbreads.
Yes if you wish – the basic gravy recipe will go great with some cooked chicken or tofu. You could even add some paneer or halloumi instead of prawns – add to the sauce and simmer for a further 5-10 minutes.
Of course – I use two regular supermarket variety green chillies when cooking this dish and I do find it to have a lovely but subtle kick. If you are sensitive to spice (or are cooking for someone who is) then you can reduce to one or even half a chilli. If you like it spicier feel free to add more chilli, use a more potent variety or garnish with extra chilli flakes.
You can use either raw or pre-cooked peeled prawns and it is totally acceptable to use frozen prawns! (Just make sure to defrost them first.) I prefer to use King Prawns, but any kind will work.
I hope you like this recipe as much as I do! Please leave a comment or tag me on Instagram @carrieskitchen_ if you make it!
Looking for some more mid-week dinner inspiration? Why not try one of these:
- Salt and Pepper Chicken
- Prawn Pilaf with Peas and Cardamom
- Pork Meatballs with Soy Glaze and Quick Pickled Slaw
- Salmon Fried Rice
- Sweet Chilli Soy Salmon
- Chicken and Leek Stir-Fry
Easy Prawn Jalfrezi
Equipment
- Wok or large frying pan
Ingredients
- 200 gram cooked peeled king prawns or jumbo shrimp you can use raw, just adjust the cooking time to make sure they are cooked through
- 1 large onion, halved and sliced
- 2-4 green chillis, finely diced with seeds removed adjust to your preferred spice level
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 400 gram tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 red pepper, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 green pepper, cut into ½ inch pieces
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
- ½ tsp granulated sugar or honey
- fresh coriander optional, to garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over a medium high heat. Add the sliced onions and diced chilli and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the spices, stir well, then add the ginger, garlic and peppers.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, then pour over the tin of chopped tomatoes.
- Fill the empty tomato tin with cold water and pour into the pan. Stir in the sugar plus a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
- Add in the prawns and cook to warm through for 1-2 minutes (more if using raw prawns – until they turn pink). Taste and add a little more salt and pepper if desired.
- Garnish with some fresh chopped coriander and serve with rice or flatbreads (or both) and enjoy!
Nutrition
This recipe is linked to CookBlogShare
This was my second “learn to cook” from Carrie’s kitchen.
As I was preparing this meal for myself I made the curry sauce and split it in 2. Day one I had it with prawns, brown rice and a nan, day two was with chicken, jasmine rice and some Turkish bread.
Very tasty and easy to make.
Thank you.
You’re very welcome! So happy you enjoyed it and can’t wait to hear which recipe you try next 🙂
This looks so wonderful! I wish I was having this for dinner.
I love a good curry and this prawn jalfrezi is right up my street. What a great recipe and quick to make too making it an ideal mid week curry.
Jalfrezi was once my favourite curry but my tastebuds have changed over the years. I still enjoy eating it from time-to-time though. I haven’t had it with prawns before but I like the sound of that!
This looks lovely! My family will love this!
This looks epic!
Thank you!