“This recipe was inspired by a trip I took to Bombay [Mumbai, India] in 2019 when I travelled around to Irani cafés, encountering wonderful flavours and dining experiences,” says chef Hemant Bhagwani of his Bombay Prawns recipe. “It influenced the dishes at Bom-Bay Snack Bar and made me want to honour this Indian cultural practice that I am very fond of by giving Toronto a taste.”
INGREDIENTS
- 12 x 6-8 inch peeled tiger prawns
- 2 ½ tbsp corn flour
- 2 ½ tbsp rice flour
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 tsp red cayenne pepper
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup water
- Oil for deep frying
- 1 lime
- 2 green chilies, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp HB Magic Masala (see below)
HB Magic Masala
- 100 ml vegetable oil
- 40 g garlic, finely chopped
- 30 g desiccated coconut
- 10 g deggi mirch chili powder
- 4 g salt
METHOD
To make HB Magic Masala:
- Heat oil in a frying pan and brown the garlic until crispy. Set aside on paper towel.
- Heat a clean frying pan, add coconut and toast slowly until light golden.
- Combine garlic, coconut, salt and chili powder and grind using a mortar and pestle.
- Store in kitchen paper in an airtight container for later use.
To make Bombay Prawns:
- Wash the prawns and drain them completely.
- Marinate the prawns with chopped curry leaves, half of cayenne powder, a dash of lime juice and set aside.
- Combine rice flour, corn flour, garam masala, salt, green chilies, remaining cayenne powder and ginger garlic paste to make a batter.
- Add water to the batter.
- Dredge the prawns in the batter and deep fry in hot oil until golden.
- Set aside to drain on paper towel.
- Serve hot, sprinkled with HB Magic Masala powder and lime wedge.