I don’t do much of prawn dishes at home as my husband is allergic to shell fish. But I love prawns. This recipe for Chettinad Prawn Masala is my favorite. More than a decade ago, we were on an Air India flight to Mauritius for our honey moon. They had just served prawn curry for in flight meals and we were just casually talking and eating. He ate the bread and then went on to have a big bite of rice and the curry. Suddenly he started coughing. Coughing really badly and his eyes were all red. He did not realize that it was prawn curry and he told me that he was allergic to prawns. He was suffering. I froze for a minute. That was the first time I was seeing someone react to food allergy. I am severely allergic to pollen etc.. myself and so I carry anti-histamines with me all the time. He had one of those and he kind of became OK after a couple of hours. Poor guy. I love prawns. My son is kind of getting to like prawns nowadays. So I do it at home once in a while when my husband is travelling. Little perks of things when husband is not home. Prawns cook very fast and this Chettinad Prawn Masala is so easy to make. This dish can be put together in less than 20 minutes.
Use only sesame oil for this recipe. Add the curry leaves lavishly. The aroma of curry leaves fried in sesame oil is to die for in this Chettinad Prawn Masala.
Heat sesame oil (gingely oil / nallennai ) in a pan and add in the fennel seeds (sombu), cardamom and curry leaves. Let it sizzle. Add in the finely chopped onions and fry for 5-6 minutes until the onions are brown.
Add in the chopped tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, spice powders and the salt. Saute for 5-6 minutes on medium flame until the tomatoes are cooked and the oil starts separating from the mixture. The mixture should be dry by now.
Add in the cleaned and de-veined prawns to the mixture. Prawns cook fast. Saute for 4-5 minutes until the prawns are fully cooked. Switch off the flame and garnish the prawn masala with coriander leaves.
Serve Chettinad Prawn Masala with some piping hot rice and a dollop of ghee. yum o yum!
This dish can also be served with thengai paal saadam  or  egg biryani.
Chettinad Prawn Masala is Ready.
Here is a printable recipe for Chettinad Prawn Masala.
Print
Spicy Chettinad Prawn Masala / Chettinad Eral Masala
Recipe for Tamilnadu Chettinad style Prawn Masala. Spicy Eral masala Recipe. Easy Prawn Masala Recipe.
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 cardamom
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (sombu)
- 3 sprigs curry leaves
- 2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 250 grams prawns, cleaned and de-veined
- 2 sprigs coriander leaves, finely chopped
Spice Powders
- 1 teaspoon pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
Instructions
- Heat sesame oil in a pan and add in the fennel seeds, cardamom and curry leaves. Let it sizzle. Add in the finely chopped onions and fry for 5-6 minutes until the onions are brown.
- Add in the tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, spice powders and the salt. Saute for 5-6 minutes on medium flame until the tomatoes are cooked and the oil starts separating from the mixture. The mixture should be dry by now.
- Add in the cleaned and de-veined prawns to the mixture. Prawns cook fast. Saute for 4-5 minutes until the prawns are fully cooked. Switch off the flame and garnish the prawn masala with coriander leaves.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: Tamilnadu
I’m really looking forward to making this Prawn Chettinad recipe – such positive reviews. I’ll be cooking for a party and will be making 1.5 kgs of prawns – do the ingredients increase in exact ratio or should I be toning down some of the spices?
I made this yesterday for lunch to have with my leftovers Biriyani with no meat. Came out very well and tasty and easy. The color was not your color. May be the chili powder I have. Thank you.
Thank you!
making prawns in only this recipe since i made it first time last year. Turns out yummy.
Thank you!
This was delicious. First recipe I’ve tried from your site. I’ll definitely be returning for more.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Amazing Recipe. Tasted great and just loved it. I never thought I could make such Prawns at home !!The recipe is so flavourful. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you so much.
Thank you. I have just made it, but not tasted it.
I am vegetarian, my mother is not.
Just made it for her, without tasting, and she said it is perfect.
She is 89, lives with me, but I dont want her to feel she is missing out.
Thank you 🙂
Hi ! If I want to substitute with chicken what quantity of chicken should I use and should I marinade it ?
Kannamma’s Spicy chettinad prawn fry was just too good. I don’t usually use gingerly oil. But this I tried with gingerly oil. It enhanced the flavour of the masala. Thank u so much.
Thank you!
Kannamma’s Spicy chettinad prawn fry was just too good. I don’t usually use gingerly oil. But this I tried with gingerly oil. It enhanced the flavour of the masala. Thank u so much.
Prawns came out super tasty. Thanks for this fabulous recipe.
Thank you!
Best ever prawns I’ve cooked or had. Fab recipe.
Thank you!
I tried this recipe….came out do well….yummy
Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed.
I tried this recipe….do yummy
I have tried the recipe twice now and it turn of well. The taste is good. Thanks for the sharing the recipe. What I really like is so simple.. Fast to cook n delicious.
Thank you so much.
Kannamma,
Beautiful work on the blog!
Please tell me if u are using whole cardamom or the cardamom seeds? Could not make out in the picture.
I have used whole cardamom. Slightly crush the cardamom and add it to oil.
Made it twice tasted delicious.
I have made this recipe, it came out quite well, my family, especially my son loved it
Thank you very much! Glad you liked it!
I have been searching for a Spicy Prawn Masala especially one from South India. Am thrilled I came upon your page Thank you for this recipe that sounds straight forward and so delicious. Am about to try it out.
I just love the format of the printable page as well. Thank you again.
Awesome recipe.Fingerlickng Good!!
Your chettinad prawn fry is really very tasty and goes well with lemon rice.
Lourdes Tirouvanziam Louis
Author of PONDICHERY KITCHEN A WESTLAND PUBLICATION
Dear Madam, I am a great great fan of your book. It brings me so much joy to know that you have visited my space here. This means a lot to me. Thank you so much. You made my day!!!!
Dear Sis,
I’m Cook in offshore field rig. i had tried your recipe it was fabulous. thank you. if any other recipes do you have like this plz mail me in [email protected].
Hi Suguna, What spice powders would you use and in what quantities? Thank you!
E
Spice Powders
1 teaspoon pepper powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander powder
Hi Suguna,
Just tried out the Chittanad Prawn Masala and it came out super!!
Thank You!
Regards,
Krish.
Thank you!
Just loved this simple recipe and we have done this the II time! It turned out just awesome both the times! Thanks for this delicious recipe! psst. have stocked up on prawns just to make this thokku again & again 🙂
Thank you!
Tried this recipe today using cooked/frozen shrimp and it turned out delicious 🙂
I tried this dish today, n it cane out very nicely my kids loved it so much. Thankyou very much for sharing this recipe
Thank you so much. Glad you liked it!
I tried this today with coconut oil instead of gingerly oil. It came out nicely. Not very spicy, but tasted awesome with white rice
Thank you so much! Glad you liked it. Happy Cooking!
I chanced upon your website a few months back while searching for a nice prawn recipe and boy am I glad I ended up on this page. I luckily saved the recipe but never got the time to try it. Today was the lucky day I guess. This recipe is out of the world. I cannot thank you enough for introducing me to this recipe. Everybody loved it at home. I would definitely try more recipes from your page.
Thank you Harry!
Hi,
Can I use garam masala, chilli powder and pepper powder for the spices?
No. The flavor of fennel is important for this recipe.
Fennel must make powder
I tried today.. It cane out superb.. 🙂 but i used sunflower oil, since gingelly oil was not handy.. But superb.. Thank u soooo much 🙂
Thank you!
Hi Suguna, I attempted this recipe for my wife and father and it worked out very well. those pictures tempted me to cook and yes, it’s the first time we tried sesame oil. We are maharastrians in bangalore so it was a different experience. Took your suggestion and had it with egg biryani; sadly I couldn’t taste it as I am allergic to shell fishes but family loved it.
Thank you so much Samuel. Really glad that you liked it.
I tried the Chettinad Prawn Masala and it turned out superb. My family members really loved this delicious recipe. Thanks a lot for the recipe.
Thank you! Really glad that you and your family liked it. Happy cooking!
Tried this recipe today and it was a big success. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Thanks Priya!
This sounds awesome! Cannot wait to try it out. I feel sad for those with food allergies, they miss out on some great food!
That’s very true.
Hi Kannamma. This turned out delicious. Could you recommend a vegetable side dish to go with it?
Thanks!
Thanks Michelle. I usuallu serve it with Pulao or Chapati.
can we use dried packet prawns in the same way??????
Hi Anjana, Sure. you can do it. But I have never tried with dried seafood.
I tried out this prawn masala today and it came out very delicious and reminded me of my mom’s cooking. Thanks a lot for the recipe!!!
Thank you so much!
Tried this recipe and it came out awesome and really tasty.. felt like eating a dish in a restaurant.. my husband loved it so much.. we both love shrimp dishes so much.. This is the first time I am trying at home and the result was amazing.. Thank u so much Suguna for the dish..
Thank you so much for writing. Really happy that you liked it.
Hi Suguna,
Can we use cooked shrimp (Frozen) in this recipe? When I tried with Cooked shrimp, it became so watery. Please advise.
Try to thaw to room temperature and drain the water before cooking shrimp.
I made prawns for d first time with this recipe and this came really tasty.. gave me confidence to cook more of it.. another thank you and a salute !
Thank you!
Hi, Can we make salmon the same way?
Sure, you can try!
I tried this and it came out so yummy!! Thank you!
Hi. Tried this prawn masala. Came out so tasty. Thank you!!
Hope to see more prawn dishes from you 🙂
Thanks so much Asha.
250gm before shelling out or after shelling out.
after shelling