This is a quick and easy Prawn Balti Curry Recipe with fresh tomatoes, onions, and a medium amount of spice. Ready in just 20 minutes, you can easily create a restaurant-quality Indian takeaway in your own home. Suitable for gluten and dairy-free diets, it's also low in calories.
An ideal Indian curry dish for when you're pushed for time. Prawns can be quickly defrosted in cold water in just 15 minutes (see top tip below). My curry recipes are all quick and easy, don't contain cream, and are not overly spicy so family-friendly.
Try my Healthy Chicken Korma curry with yoghurt or Fish Korma or skip the meat and go for a vegan Lentil and Chickpea Curry with spinach.
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What is a Balti Curry?
It's thought the name 'Balti' actually refers to the thin steel wok or balti bowl the dish is traditionally cooked in. Balti houses sprung up in Birmingham in the UK in the 1970s and 80s and are now very popular throughout the UK. An Indian Balti curry usually contains onions, garlic, and tomatoes and is cooked with vegetable oil. There is no definitive level of spiciness and mostly it is served as a medium curry.
Ingredients
- Prawns - use large or king prawns as they have a juicier texture. Uncooked prawns are best as there is less chance of overcooking them. Prawns should be deveined and uncooked and deveined prawns are widely available. Check the frozen section.
- Balti curry Paste - I use a ready-made curry paste because it saves time and they are generally very good. If you want to make your own balti using spices, see below.
- Onion - brown onion is best and most commonly used in curries
- Ginger - I like to use fresh ginger in my curries. You can also use minced ginger but please note ground ginger is not a substitute and won't work in this recipe.
- Garlic - an essential ingredient in curries. You can also use minced garlic.
- Bell Peppers - red or green bell peppers go well in a Balti curry but are optional.
- Tomatoes - fresh tomatoes make this sauce special. Look out for large red ripe tomatoes.
- Fish Stock - as always use good quality stock. Ready-made or a cube is fine.
- Lime - lime juice adds to the taste of the curry.
- Coriander - fresh coriander or cilantro leaves bring out the flavours of the curry. If you don't have fresh coriander, just leave it out.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Melt the butter and the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, and bell pepper and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the curry paste and tomato puree or paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring all the time.
Add the fish stock and fresh tomatoes and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the uncooked prawns and simmer for 4 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the prawns.
Stir in the lime juice.
Sprinkle with fresh coriander or cilantro leaves and serve.
Hint: Don't overcook the prawns as they can become rubbery.
Substitutions
This is a prawn balti curry recipe, but you can easily replace the protein with chicken or white fish. If you are cooking with chicken, you should use chicken stock instead of fish stock. The chicken will also need a longer cooking time than the prawns.
Variations
Finding the spice level that is right for you and your family can be tricky. This is a medium curry and not overly spicy. However, here's how you can up the spice level or tone it down if you need to.
- Spicy - add a diced green chilli along with the onions if you want to turn up the spice level or add more curry paste. Do this a little at a time.
- Kid friendly - to tone down the spice, stir through a little natural yoghurt or cream.
How to make your own Balti Spice Mix
If you want to make your own Balti Spice mix rather than use a store-bought curry paste, add the following combination of spices instead of the paste. These quantities are for a curry for four people.
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon tumeric
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
Equipment
Balti curries are traditionally cooked and served in a special Balti dish. However, this is a home-cooked recipe so you can cook the curry in any large frying or skillet pan.
Serving Suggestions
The most common side dishes are rice or naan bread. Naan bread can be plain or flavoured with garlic, coriander, or a peshwari, which contains coconut, sultanas, and almonds. For a homemade easy side, try this 3 Ingredient Flatbread recipe, which is an easy alternative to naan bread. Rice can be plain or pilau rice. You can also serve them with poppadoms which are thin crispy forms of flatbreads made with gram or lentil flour. For extra sides, try onion bhajis or samosas.
Sustainability
When shopping for prawns, look for the Marine Stewardship Council logo. This label is a reasonable indication the prawns have been sourced responsibly. The Marine Stewardship Council constantly monitors fish stocks to help preserve them for future generations. The Good Fish Guide gives the latest information. There are also several online sustainable retailers of prawns that are ethically sourced.
Storage
A Prawn Balti curry can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store it in an airtight container so the flavour doesn't contaminate other foods.
You can freeze the curry for up to 3 months. However, if you are planning on freezing, don't add the prawns. This is because prawns don't take much cooking and when you reheat the curry, you will be cooking the prawns again which can give them a rubbery texture.
To reheat the curry, make sure it is piping hot.
Top tip
To quickly defrost frozen prawns, add them to a large bowl of cold water. Make sure the water is properly cold or the prawns will start to cook. Change the water every 5 minutes to stop them all sticking together in one frozen lump. It should only take about 15 minutes.
FAQ
Raw prawns or shrimp have a blue / grey appearance but turn pink when cooked. When properly cooked, they will be opaque or white on the inside rather than translucent.
Related
Looking for other prawn or fish recipes like this? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Prawn Balti Curry
Ingredients
- 15 g butter organic, (replace with oil dairy free)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 onions peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves peeled, crushed
- 2 tablespoon fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 1 red bell pepper deseeded and diced, or green pepper
- 2 tablespoon balti curry paste
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 400 g large prawns or King prawns, deveined, raw
- 150 ml fish stock
- 600 g tomatoes fresh, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 25 g coriander leaves fresh,
- 1 lime juiced
Instructions
- Melt the butter and the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, and bell pepper and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.15 g butter, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 2 onions, 3 garlic cloves, 2 tablespoon fresh ginger, 1 red bell pepper
- Stir in the curry paste and tomato puree or paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring all the time.2 tablespoon balti curry paste, 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- Add the fish stock and fresh tomatoes and let it simmer for 5 minutes.150 ml fish stock, 600 g tomatoes
- Add the uncooked prawns and simmer for 4 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the prawns.400 g large prawns
- Stir in the lime juice.1 lime
- Sprinkle with fresh coriander or cilantro leaves and serve.25 g coriander leaves
Notes
Ingredients
- Prawns - use large or king prawns as they have a juicier texture. Uncooked prawns are best as there is less chance of overcooking them. Prawns should be deveined and uncooked and deveined prawns are widely available. Check the frozen section.
- Balti curry Paste - I use a ready-made curry paste because it saves time and they are generally very good. If you want to make your own balti using spices, see below.
- Onion - brown onion is best and most commonly used in curries
- Ginger - I like to use fresh ginger in my curries. You can also use minced ginger but please note ground ginger is not a substitute and won't work in this recipe.
- Garlic - an essential ingredient in curries. You can also use minced garlic.
- Bell Peppers - red or green bell peppers go well in a Balti curry but are optional.
- Tomatoes - fresh tomatoes make this sauce special. Look out for large red ripe tomatoes.
- Fish Stock - as always use good quality stock. Ready-made or a cube is fine.
- Coriander - fresh coriander brings out the flavours of the curry. If you don't have fresh coriander, just leave it out.
Storage
A Prawn Balti curry can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store it in an airtight container so the flavour doesn't contaminate other foods.You can freeze the curry for up to 3 months. However, if you are planning on freezing, don't add the prawns. This is because prawns don't take much cooking and when you reheat the curry, you will be cooking the prawns again which can give them a rubbery texture.
To reheat the curry, make sure it is piping hot.
Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
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