Mauritian recipe: prawn and chicken curry

Posted by Sarah Duff on 8 October 2012

With Indo-Mauritians making up the majority of the population on the island, there’s no shortage of awesome curry. Mauritian Indian curries tend to be less spicy than their Indian counterparts (although Mauritians serve fiery hot fresh chilli paste with everything), and with slightly different spices and flavours. This recipe is a fairly typical Mauritian Indian curry – with warming spices of cinnamon and ginger, and just a touch of chilli.

You can make a pescatarian version by omitting the chicken, or double up on the chicken and omit the prawns. Vegetarians can substitute paneer (Indian cottage cheese).

Mauritian chicken and prawn curry

Serves four

1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp crushed ginger
1 tsp crushed garlic
500 g chicken (cut into pieces)
250 g prawns (shelled)
1 big onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
A handful of fresh curry leaves (you can substitute dried ones)
A handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Mix together all the powdered ingredients and make into a past with a dash of water. Fold in the ginger and garlic.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and fry in vegetable oil until light brown. Remove from the pan and keep aside.

Fry prawns in the same oil until cooked, and then drain and keep aside.

In another pan, add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and fry the onion until transparent. Add the curry paste and stir fry until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Add the tomatoes, curry leaves and a pinch of salt. Mix well and cook until the sauce thickens.

Then add the chicken and prawns and 125 ml water. Mix well, cover and cook until the chicken is tender. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with the chopped coriander.

Serve the curry with either rice or farata – delicious flaky Mauritian flat bread (find my farata recipe here).

I learned to make this Mauritian recipe on a cooking lesson with the fantastic chefs at LUX Le Morne. For more on LUX Le Morne, click here.