I cook - grilled prawns with curry leek sauce and pilau sultana rice

I love curry, Indian curry in particular. I am very impressed by the diversity of spices and the art of combining them each time I go to a curry restaurant here. I often thought that the gustiness of Indian curry spice suits meat much better than with seafood. However, there is one particular prawn curry dish I like and make often. I guess it's a westernised curry dish but I like the simplicity and the flavor of it. It has just three components in the curry sauce, leeks, coconut cream and curry powder. The smoothness of the cream provides a very interesting contrast to the spiciness of the curry powder which is in turn complemented by the sweetness of the softened leeks. The whole dish is full of contrast and yet everything exists in a curious harmony. The trick is not to add too much curry powder so as to maintain the intricate balance between the cream and the curry.

If I were to serve it in a dinner party, I would probably use very large prawns or queen scallops to have the wow factor. I am quite happy with (mini) tiger prawns or white fish fillets for a Saturday night homely meal.  I hope you like it as much as we do.

Grilled Prawns with Curry Leek Sauce and Pilau Sultana Rice
Serves 2

- 250 g raw prawns
- cajun spice (or curry powder)
- 3 leeks, sliced
- 2 tbsps Olive oil
- 1 cup coconut milk/cream (or fresh cream)
- 1-2 tsp Indian curry powder
- salt

Pilau Sultana Rice
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leave
- 6 green cardamom pods
- 2 cups of basmati rice
- 2 1/4 cups of water
- 1/2 cup of sultana
- 1/2 cup of garden peas (optional)

Clean and de-vein the prawns. Dry the prawns thoroughly with paper towels. Dust over prawns the Cajun spice (or curry powder) and rest them in the fridge.

To make the curry sauce, soften the leeks in a pan of olive oil. You don't want to brown them but to soften them on medium heat. Stir them occasionally and cover the lid to steam them through. The leeks are ready when they look transparent and their volume has reduced by at least a third. It will take 15-20 minutes.

When the leeks are softened, put in curry powder. Stir for a few seconds and then add in coconut or fresh cream. Bring to boil and lower the heat to occasional bubbles coming from the side of the pot. Cook the sauce for 5 minutes or until it thickens a bit. When the sauce has reached it consistency you like, taste it and season with salt. The sauce is ready.

To prepare the pilau rice, heat another pan with 1 tbsp of oil. Put in all spices at once and heat the spices until you hear seeds pop (or smell the aroma). At this stage, stir in the Basmati rice and coat each grain with the flavored oil. Scatter the sultana on top of the rice and pour in water (enjoy the sizzling sound and the steam). Put the lid on and bring the pot to active boiling on high heat. Once the rice pot starts to boil, bring the heat down to the lowest setting, keeping the lid on for 12-15 minutes (first stage of cooking). After the first stage of cooking is completed, scatter over the cooked rice with garden peas (you could stir through the rice mixture at this stage if you wish). Put the lid back on, keep it on low heat for another 2 minutes and turn off the heat. Keep the lid on and let the rice steamed for at least 15 minutes (second stage of cooking).  Now your rice is ready after fluffing it through with your spatula.

Right before everybody is ready to eat, heat a pan with oil for 2 minutes to grill the prawns. You can use oven for this purpose. Don't over cook the prawns. Get them out of the pan when they turn pink.

To serve, put the pilau rice on one side of the plate. Scoop the curry sauce next to the rice and arrange grilled prawns on top of the sauce.