"Prawn curry recipe" is a top-10 UK curry search term year-round — and until now, Pick N Save had zero seafood recipes. Zero. Forty-five recipes covering every chicken, lamb, paneer, lentil, and vegetable dish imaginable — but not a single one featuring the prawns, fish, or seafood that sit in our freezer aisle. This recipe changes that. And it starts with the version most likely to be searched for, cooked, and loved: a simple South Indian-style coconut prawn curry with curry leaves, mustard seeds, and a tamarind tang that's completely different from any cream-based North Indian curry.
The beauty of prawn curry is speed. Prawns cook in 3–4 minutes — faster than any meat protein. The coconut sauce takes 10 minutes. Total time from opening the fridge to plates on the table: 20 minutes, including the rice cooking alongside. It's the perfect Friday-night dinner — elegant enough for guests, fast enough for a weeknight. The flavour profile is coastal South Indian: creamy coconut milk (not dairy cream), aromatic curry leaves and mustard seeds (not cumin-coriander-cream), and a bright tamarind-tomato tang that lifts the rich coconut. At Pick N Save, we stock GF Prawns (peeled and deveined, ready to cook), Pride and Kara Coconut Milk, fresh curry leaves, tamarind, and every South Indian spice. This recipe unlocks your entire frozen prawn and coconut milk range — products that have been sitting without a single recipe connection.
Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or sunflower oil (KTC Coconut Oil 500ml or KTC Pure Sunflower Oil) in a wide pan over medium heat. Add ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds (TFS Mustard Seeds Large 100g) — let them pop for 5 seconds. Add 12–15 fresh curry leaves (Fresh Curry Leaves) — they'll crackle. Add ½ teaspoon of fenugreek seeds (TFS Fenugreek Seeds 100g) — they'll darken in 5 seconds (fenugreek adds a subtle, bitter-sweet depth to South Indian seafood curries).
Add 1 medium onion, finely sliced (not diced — thin half-moon slices soften faster and look more elegant in this curry). Cook for 3–4 minutes until soft and translucent — not deeply browned. South Indian coconut curries use softened onion, not caramelised onion. Add 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste (Fudco Ginger Garlic Paste 300g) and 2 green chillies slit lengthways (Indian Chilli 400g). Cook for 1 minute.
Add 1 medium tomato, finely chopped (Fresh Vine Tomato 500g) or 100g of KTC Chopped Tomatoes. Cook for 2–3 minutes until the tomato softens. Add the spices: 1 teaspoon of ground coriander (TFS Dhana Coriander Powder 100g), ½ teaspoon of turmeric (TFS Haldi Powder Rajapuri 100g), ½ teaspoon of Kashmiri chilli powder (TFS Kashmiri Mild Chilli Powder 100g — for colour without extreme heat), ½ teaspoon of black pepper freshly ground (TFS Black Pepper Whole 100g), and salt to taste. Stir for 1 minute.
Pour in 1 tin (400ml) of coconut milk (Pride Coconut Milk 400ml or Kara Coconut Milk 400ml). Stir well. Add 1 teaspoon of tamarind paste (or soak a small piece of Fudco Tamarind Slabs 200g in 2 tablespoons of warm water, squeeze, and strain). The tamarind adds the bright, sour tang that distinguishes South Indian coastal curries from cream-based North Indian ones. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook for 3 minutes until slightly thickened and the oil from the coconut milk begins to separate at the surface — this indicates the sauce is properly emulsified.
Add 400g of raw king prawns, peeled and deveined (GF Prawn 31/40 PD 400g — these come pre-prepped and ready to cook from frozen. If frozen, thaw in cold water for 5 minutes or add frozen directly — they'll take an extra 1–2 minutes to cook through). Stir gently to submerge the prawns in the coconut sauce. Simmer on medium heat for 3–4 minutes — the prawns are done when they turn pink-orange all the way through and curl into a C-shape. Do not overcook — prawns become rubbery within 1–2 minutes of being overcooked. The moment they're uniformly pink, turn off the heat.
Squeeze the juice of half a lime (Lemon Loose Yellow Big 3 pcs) into the curry. Add a handful of chopped fresh coriander (Fresh Coriander Bunch). Stir once gently — don't break the prawns.
Serve immediately over steaming basmati rice (Tilda Basmati Rice 5kg) — the creamy coconut sauce soaks into the rice beautifully and the prawns sit on top like jewels. This is a rice curry — the thinner coconut sauce is designed to merge with rice, not to be scooped with bread. However, Garlic Naan works for those who prefer bread. A side of Cucumber Raita provides a cool contrast.
For a complete South Indian seafood dinner, serve alongside Dal Tadka and finish with Kheer for dessert. For a coastal-themed feast, pair with Masala Dosa or Idli with Sambar.
Every single ingredient for this recipe is available at picknsave.co.uk with home delivery across London and the UK, or click and collect from our store in Harrow. Here's your shopping list:
*RI = Reference Intake. Values approximate. Saturated fat is from coconut milk (plant-based, not dairy). Naturally dairy-free and gluten-free.
Enter one item per line - up to 10 items.
Please only use letters and numbers when creating your Shopping List name
Please only use letters and numbers when creating your Shopping List name
