Prawn Powder

Prawn Powder is a traditional Anglo-Indian recipe from the 1860s for a classic condiment or flavouring of powdered dried prawns (shrimp) blended with cayenne pepper and smoked paprika with nutmeg. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Anglo-Indian version of: Prawn Powder.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

50 minutes

Total Time:

70 minutes

Serves:

6–8

Rating:

Tags : Chilli Recipes Fusion Recipes British Recipes

This is a traditional Anglo-Indian recipe redacted from the volume THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK: A Practical Handbook to The Kitchen in India (author unknown), published by: WYMAN & CO., HARE STREET CALCUTTA circa 1869.

Original Recipe

122.—Prawn Powder

Take a seer of dry prawns; wash them well, dry over the fire until crisp, pound fine, with some red
pepper and nutmeg, pass through a sieve, and bottle for use. A tspful spread over bread and
butter is considered a relish.

Modern Redaction

This may seem like a rather odd recipe to make, but crawfish (crayfish) or prawn powder is a very important African ingredient. It's not really available in South Africa, through you can try dried prawns. So I decided to try this recipe to see if it was acceptable to my wife. I substituted some of the chilli powder with smoked paprika to give the smoky flavour that's so important in West African cookery... and it was a hit! Blended with butter it also really does make an excellent, savoury, breakfast spread.

Ingredients

250g dried prawns (shrimp)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg

Method:

Place a non-stick frying pan over mediu heat. Add the dried prawns (shrimp) and cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until aromatic and nicely toasted on both sides.

Turn onto a plate and allow to cool completely. Place in a mortar and pound to a fine powder (do not do this in a spice grinder or blender as all you will get is a fuzzy fluff). Turn into a bowl and mix with the spices.

This can be stored in a dark cupboard in an air-tight jar and will keep for several weeks.

To make the butter blend 2 tbsp of the prawn mixture with 50g softened butter. Shape into a patty and chill in the refrigerator to harden. Use as a spread for toast. This is also great as a garnish for seafood and fish dishes.

Find more Victorian Recipes Here and more Curry Recipes Here. For the original version of The Indian Cookery book see my The Indian Cookery Book main page.