Karavelli Prawn-ish Success

Bought some white shrimp yesterday intending to make Gambas al Ajillo. We ended up snacking on carbs & cheese instead of cooking, so the shrimp became the plan for lunch. By the time lunch rolled around, I was cooking for myself and wanted something different.

There was this dish at Amber India in San Jose that I loved: Karavelli Prawns. Tomato-based sauce with almond slivers & gently-cooked prawns. Simple and complex at the same time, but really tasty!

A recent purge of the pantry meant I had no almonds to use. There also was no store-bought stock in the cupboard.

But, I had carrots, celery, garlic, onion, frozen venison stock, a can of diced tomatoes, and plenty of interesting spices at hand.

Game on! 

This was very much a "what do I have" dish. And, I am fortunate to have some pretty cool things to work with. Don't know what y'all bring home as travel souvenirs, but mine are usually food-oriented. This dish featured:

• Vanilla Garam Masala from the Big Island
• Aji Molido from Barcelona
• Premium Saffron from Barcelona
• Coconut Sugar from Maui

Also relied on some pantry staples: Olea Farm Arbequina olive oil. Lustau Oloroso Sherry, Diamond Kosher Salt. No endorsement deals, those are just the things that I'd have a hard time cooking without.

Ingredients

12 wild prawns, white or pink, peeled and cleaned

1 small carrot, sliced thin on the diagonal

1 rib celery, trimmed & sliced thin

4 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced thin

1/2 small onion, sliced into thin 2" slivers

1 geen onion, sliced into rounds

1/2 lime

Handful of Parsley, chopped

1 1/2 cups stock 

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

Arbequina olive oil

Oloroso sherry

Garam Masala

Tumeric

Black cumin seeds

Aji Molido (mild chile flake)

Saffron

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Preparation

1. Clean and drain the shrimp, sprinkle with garam masala, add some olive oil, and mix to marinate.
2. Saute carrots, celery, onions, and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until onions are soft. This is probably going to take 15 minutes or more. Stir often...the goal is to get the onions soft without burning the garlic. 
3. Mix the spices: garam masala, tumeric, black cumin, chile flake. 
4. Add the spice mix to the veggies & stir until things start to stick.
5. Deglaze with a healthy dose of sherry.
6. Add the diced tomatoes.
7. Cook down over medium-high heat, mashing the tomatoes as they soften.
8. Taste and season with salt & pepper to taste.
9. Sprinkle in some saffron threads.
10. Once the tomato starts to caramelize and stick, deglaze with a cup of stock & reduce. (Add more as needed to achieve the desired sauciness.)
11. Add the shrimp to the reduced sauce.
12. Flip the shrimp and sprinkle with some coconut sugar (or plain sugar), and squeeze a bit of lime juice over the top. 
13. As the shrimp start to pink up, turn the heat down and stir.
14. Add some green onion and chopped parsley and stir.
15. Serve and garnish with the green onion, parsley, and garam masala dust.

In Pictures