Pasta might not spring to mind when you think of Kerala but this sauce and its spicing are brilliant with linguine.
Serves: 3 – 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
What You’ll Need:
- 300g (11 oz) linguine pasta
- 200g (7 oz) sugar snap peas, trimmed
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 12–15 curry leaves
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 large red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1½ teaspoons red chilli powder
- 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
- 5cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon kokum or tamarind (optional)
- 60ml coconut milk
- 500g (1 lb) raw king prawns, peeled (if peeling them yourself, you will need to start with approximately 750g or 1lb 8 oz)
- 1 handful of basil leaves
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes
- Sea salt flakes (optional)
What To Do:
- Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling water, according to the instructions on the pack.
- Add the sugar snap peas for the last minute or so of cooking time. Drain and reserve.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves and allow to crackle and pop.
- Toss in the garlic and chopped red chilli and cook over a fairly high heat for about 30 seconds without letting the garlic brown.
- Once the garlic has softened, add the onion and sauté over a high heat for 5 minutes or so until the onions start to change colour.
- Add the salt, sugar and chilli powder, stir to mix well, then add the tomatoes and cook another 4–5 minutes until the moisture is absorbed and mixture starts to turn glossy.
- Add the ginger, kokum or tamarind, if using, and the coconut milk and mix well.
- Tip in the prawns and cook over a high heat, stirring frequently, for about 3–4 minutes until they turn translucent and pink.
- Toss the pasta and sugar snaps into the prawn mixture.
- Tear in the basil leaves, stir, and season with pepper and chilli flakes.
- Check the seasoning; if adding salt, use sea salt flakes.
Spice at Home by Vivek Singh published by Absolute Press. Visit www.amazon.co.uk
Photography by Lara Holmes, 2014