Food Talk
Prawn pleasure

With improved refrigeration, it is possible for prawn lovers, even those living away from the coast, to enjoy them round the year, writes Pushpesh Pant

ONE of the most satisfying and memorable meals one has had was served by ‘Sahukar Janaki’, famous yesteryear heroine of Tamil films. The lady, wonderful cook, is called Janaki but the word Sahukar has remained prefixed to her name since she starred in that hit film. The lunch eaten more than a decade ago has remained etched in our memory due to its simplicity and sublime elegance. We, Jiggs and I, were treated to a home-style prawn curry, steamed rice and some crunchy vegetable fashioned out of the stem of a banana tree.

There are other memories involving the jhingai — some Bengali delicacies, others tandoori concoctions and a particularly remarkable butterfly avatar (shapewise) partaken at the Casino Hotel in Kochi. ‘Pilot’ Panda once treated us to ‘fresh river’ prawns intriguing us with the name as much as the tangy masala that veiled the prawns. We have also been surprised with prawn biryani. Well who would have thought vegetarian prawns fashioned out of water chestnuts! But here we are talking of the real stuff. We have also learnt the hard way that the larger more expensive Tiger/Jumbo prawns are not necessarily the tastier species, nor does it mean that the wormlike shrimps are always a better choice.

What is encouraging for prawn lovers is the fact that with improved refrigeration it is possible to enjoy these round the year even when you reside away from the coast.

Prawns are veritably for us ‘landlubbing’ Northerners ‘neither fish nor fowl’. People either love them or are scared of the crustaceans. Aren’t they overloaded with cholesterol and carry the risk of heavy metal poisoning? What about the allergies that can be triggered by the tasty morsels? These are all right in a Chinese menu but are there any good Indian recipes? Well. We will advise you to get reassurance regarding the allergies from a qualified doctor you trust but can tell you from experience that nothing comes close in exotic impact and ease of cooking than prawns.

As Janakiji’s lunch showed us, the only precaution that is required is that nothing should be allowed to overpower the mild subtle taste of prawns and these should never be overcooked. You can enjoy the nutty prawns just grilled, drizzled lightly with pepper and salt with a slice of lime or in a thick creamy qorma like draping as long as the spicing is right. Marinating tenderizes prawns adequately to reduce cooking time but here again care should be taken not to overdo it.

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