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The Best Tandoori Prawns Masala Recipe

Name: The BEST Tandoori Prawn Masala
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 24 Prawns (medium size); 2 tbsp Cilantro; 2 tbsp Butter; 120 ml yogurt; 1 tbsp ginger (grated); 1/4 tsp turmeric powder; 1 tbsp garlic (minced); 1/4 tsp cumin powder; 2 tbsp coriander powder; 1 tsp hot cayenne; 1 tsp sweet paprika; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 1/2 tsp salt (as per taste); 1/4 tsp pepper; 2 tbsp cooking oil; 1/8 tsp orange tandoori color (optional)

Published -Oct 30, 2018 Update -Oct 14, 2020 Veena Azmanov Words - 870 words. About 5 minutes to read this article. This post may contain affiliate links to Amazon and other sides. This blog generates income via ads #sponsoredpost.

Recipe Print

This tandoori prawns masala is the ultimate tandoori recipe that gets done in less than 15 minutes. Creamy, tangy, and a little spicy these just melt in your mouth. The sauce is an absolute treat over steamed rice, chapati or roti. A perfect quick meal for a busy day or marinade and leave it in the fridge for later.

You have got to love tandoori anything. Its one of the best Indian recipes, isn't it? Popular amongst Indian and non-Indian. Almost all my non-Indian friends think tandoori chicken is what Indian food is all about. Well, far from it. Indian food is so diverse, even if you ate it every day you would still have so much more to explore.

I remember when I met Ziv his favorite Indian food was tandoori chicken and chicken tikka masala. Once, while we were dating, I cooked him dinner and made these tandoori prawn masala. Let's just say he was shocked and thrilled about two things. One that his favorite tandoori chicken was now also tandoori prawns. Second, that he was going to have a wife who knew how to cook. Music to his years.

Having grown in a kibbutz he has huge reservation about food and he is not eager to try something new. Over the years that has changed. Now? to quote him. He says I eat whatever my wife feeds me.

Table of Contents

Ingredients and substitutes

Prawns - I've used medium size prawns (often called shrimps). The marinade makes a nice little gravy that is absolutely delicious over rice. You can add more prawns up to 30 before you adjust the recipe.
Tandoori color - on a regular day for the family I do not use any tandoori color. I served these for some guests and thought it made sense to show off the pretty color. The color does not add any taste or flavor so it's best not to use it.
Indian spices - Coriander, cumin, and turmeric are the most common spices used in Indian and middle eastern cooking and easily available in most supermarkets these days.
Yogurt - Traditionally, if we make grilled tandoori prawns, we use hung yogurt which is basically yogurt drained in cheesecloth so there is less liquid in the marinade. But in this case, since we are making a masala, the regular yogurt works toward creating the sauce.

What do I serve with tandoori prawns masala?

I made these over the weekend when we have some guests over so I had a few more dishes served up. I served these alongside my oh so popular homemade naan bread. You can try the classic naan or the nigella garlic naan. And since my kids love rice I made some pain simple vegetable pilaff as well. These prawns were just a side dish which I served alongside some slow-cooked lamb masala, mustard beans, and mushroom masala.

If I was to make this for us as a family, I usually make some homemade chapati. My kids love soft chapati and they can eat it just as is on its own.

The homemade naan is an absolute treat, which when made properly just melts in the mouth. This simple, easy and effortless recipe will make the most deliciously soft and supple bread that can be used to scoop any Indian curry, wrapped around meats. This recipe works perfectly when made on the stovetop, baked in the oven or even grilled on a hot summers day.

Soft Homemade Pita Bread Recipe

These homemade soft dinner rolls are the best thing to have with any meal or make a sandwich for a quick snack. The simple, easy and effortless recipe using regular all purpose flour, sugar, butter and instant yeast makes the softest buns with a tender crumb that can be an addiction.

The BEST Homemade Dinner Rolls Recipe

Indian Chapati is a flatbread recipe made with whole wheat flour. It's much healthier, delicious and easy to make with no special skills or gadgets needed. You can serve them with Indian food or use as a wrap for sandwiches too. This simple easy and effortless recipe will get you hooked onto the Indian Chapati Instantly.

Homemade Indian Chapati or Whole Wheat Tortilla

This whole wheat sweet potato chapati or flatbread is so versatile you can have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This simple, easy and effortless recipe makes the softest sweet potato flatbread ever. Combined with onions and herbs means you can have it on its own or as a bread with your main course.

Sweet potato chapati, sweet potato paratha

Step by step instructions (Save/Pin)

Marinate

Place all marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Clean and devein prawns - I leave the tails on but you can take them off as well.
Drain the prawn well and pat them dry.
Add prawns to the marinade and coat them well.
Set aside.
Alternatively, leave the prawns to marinade from an hour on the counter or up to 12 hours in the fridge.