Perfect Prawn Fry (Isso Thel Daala)

Is this another prawn recipe? Yes. Is it as delicious as the prawn curry? Possibly more actually. This prawn fry or ඉස්සො තෙල් දාලා is a staple of many Sri Lankan households. The flavours build overnight and this is even better the next day eaten for breakfast with some milk rice or buttered bread. What really makes this dish sing are the onions that soak up all the umami juices of the prawn shells. As such, it's important to buy prawns with the tail on. Prawns with the shell on are also great but I'm personally not a fan of having to take the shells off while I'm eating. I confess: I've been in the kitchen at 3am eating the caramelised prawn-y onions on a buttered slice of bread, and it's insanely good. This is so easy to make and comes together very quickly and is a perfect accompaniment for warm rice, dhal, papadam and a cuppa to finish! Sometimes I add sliced banana peppers for an extra bit of flavour and also the peppers turn soft, sweet and absolutely delicious as they cook! With that in mind: here we go!

Ingredients

400g prawns, cleaned, tail on

2 green chillies, sliced

1 sprig curry leaves

2 medium red onions, sliced

2 cardamom pods

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 tsp of ginger paste

Juice of 1 lime

4 tsp chill flakes

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tomato, chopped

Oil

For the marinade:

1 tbs soy sauce

2 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp ground black pepper

Method

Toss the prawns in the marinade ingredients and set aside for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Heat up 4 tbs oil in a deep frying pan

Add all ingredients except tomatoes and marinated prawns

Once the aromatics are fragrant, add in the prawns

Cook and fry off until prawns are cooked through but not over cooked and dry. Adjust salt and chilli as needed.

Add in the tomatoes at the last minute and cook until tomatoes are slightly soft - about 4to 5 minutes on a medium flame

Take off heat and drizzle with lime juice. Serve hot.