This recipe is from my friend Aparna. Appu is my batch mate from my post graduation days. She used to bring big bottles of Prawn Pickle every time she came to hostel after vacation. That was the first time I tasted Prawn Pickle. We all would devour on her bottle and it will be over very soon. Our senior Pramod would come to see Aparna at the hostel. He always brought flowers when he came to see her. The room would have some flowers all the time. I have this memory of Pramod bringing his pens, pencils and a ruler nicely packed in an empty Pringles box for semester exams. Pringles was not readily available those days at shops in India. It had to come from the middle east or USA when someone visited you. I used to save my empty Pringles boxes like a treasure and used it to store stationery. I was surprised to see another person doing the same thing just like me. Appu and Pramod are now married with two children. Wonderful memories. OK. Back to the pickle. This recipe is a flavor bomb. Here is how to do Kerala style Prawn Pickle.
Clean, Peel and de-vein the prawns. We use small prawns for this recipe. Add in the salt and turmeric and mix well. Set it on a strainer for the excess water in the prawns to drain. Let it marinate for 30 minutes.
Heat quarter cup of oil in a pan and add in the prawns and the red chilli powder. Fry on low flame for 5 minutes until cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.
The ginger and garlic are 50% of the weight of the prawns in this pickle. I have used 250 grams of small prawns today. I used 60 grams each of garlic and ginger. Run the garlic and ginger in a small mixie jar without adding any water to coarsely crush them. Do not make it into a paste. Just coarsely grind. Set aside. Add the remaining oil in the pan and add in the ginger and garlic mixture.
Saute for two minutes. Add in the chopped green chillies and continue to saute until the garlic and the ginger are nicely roasted. About 5 minutes on medium flame.
Add in the masala powders and the salt and fry for a minute.
Add in the prawns, vinegar and quarter cup of water. Do not add all of the vinegar at once. First add the 1/4 cup of vinegar and taste it. Add more if you think you might need more. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, the mixture would become slightly dry and the oil would start to float on top completely. Switch off the flame and allow it to cool for an hour.
Transfer the mixture to a ceramic or a glass jar. Use only a glass or a ceramic jar for making this recipe. Metals and plastic containers tend to react to the pickle and hence using them is not recommended.
I refrigerate my pickle. You can store it refrigerated for upto a month.
Kerala Prawn Pickle Recipe / Chemmeen Pickle
Kerala Style Prawn pickle recipe. Chemmeen Achar made with prawns, ginger, garlic, spices and vinegar.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2 cups / 20 servings 1x
Ingredients
For Marinating and Cooking Prawns
- 250 grams small prawns (weight after cleaning)
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon red chilli powder
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
For the Pickle
- 60 grams ginger
- 60 grams garlic (weighed after peeling)
- 20 green chillies, chopped
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup vinegar
Masala Powders
- 1 tablespoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon red chilli powder
- 2 tablespoon black pepper powder
- 2 teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
- Clean, Peel and de-vein the prawns. Add in the salt and turmeric and mix well. Set it on a strainer for the excess water in the prawns to drain. Let it marinate for 30 minutes.
- Heat quarter cup of oil in a pan and add in the prawns and the red chilli powder. Fry on low flame for 5 minutes until cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add the remaining quarter cup of oil in the pan and add in the crushed ginger and garlic mixture. Saute for two minutes. Add in the chopped green chillies and continue to saute until the garlic and the ginger are nicely roasted. About 5 minutes on medium flame.
- Add in the masala powders and the salt and fry for a minute.
- Add in the prawns, vinegar and quarter cup of water. Do not add all of the vinegar at once. First add the 1/4 cup of vinegar and taste it. Add more if you think you might need more. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, the mixture would become slightly dry and the oil would start to float on top completely. Switch off the flame and allow it to cool for an hour.
- Transfer the mixture to a ceramic or a glass jar. You can store it refrigerated for upto a month.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Pickle
- Cuisine: South Indian, Kerala
Too many green chilli’s recommended. 7 are correct
Awesome recipe!! Instead of 2 tablespoons I added only 2 teaspoons of pepper powder and still it was too spicy for us.. So added some more oil to adjust the spiciness.. Other than that its a truly amazing recipe
Thanks.
Hi,
How long does it last if kept unused, without opening the bottle?
Is vinegar mandatory?
Sorry I see the answer below.
The 250 gms of prawns is after cleaning the prawns I presume?
Yes. you are right.
Lovely pickle, you can tell it’s a lovely recipe. Thanks for the share.
Thank you!
Can vinegar be skipped
No. Vinegar is very important for this recipe.
Hello Mam,
If we did not refrigerate, How long it will stay?
Just curious, so that i can make it for the next road trip.
Due to the vinegar, it wont go bad. You can safely take it in your road trip. I have made it and kept outside for up to a week without any problems. People say it stays good for up to a month.
Thankyou for this wonderful recipe . I will try it and came back to you to share the feedback. Looking forward for more pickles from sea foods. Thankyou
Good recipe. But, is Vinegar mandatory in pickle recipe cause I never use them…
Without vinegar, the pickle will spoil!
Hi, Suguna,
I made this prawn pickle today; only tweak was the inclusion of curry leaves. Came out super duper.
Thank you so much Ash. Glad you liked it!
Tried it, came out super nice! Thanks!
Thank you!
Hi Ms. Suguna! Ur blog is simply awesome. Every recipe stands time tested n never fails. Keep up ir good work and do please post more. Kindly do post chicken pickle recipe! Thank u!
Thanks Aarthi!
Thank you for this recipe. It was super spicy for me (and I will use much lesser chilly powder next time) but it still tasted very good. Please post more pickle recipes!
Thank you Sheena.
Hi Suguna Which vinegar should I use
The regular plain vinegar you find in grocery stores. Rice vinegar or ACV is not used for this preperation.
31/40 size prawnes supplyers
you are really talented Suguna ,GOD BLESS..
Thank you so much!