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.