SAUTEED PRAWNS(with cooked salad prawns from Costco)

I usually prepare Kerala-style prawn dishes using frozen prawns. During the summer in Seattle, however, I sometimes find cooked, small, salted salad prawns at Costco. These prawns are way tastier than the bigger ones. They are meant to be used in salads, but since I’m not familiar with making prawn salads, I simply use them in my usual Kerala-style side dishes that go well with rice.

INGREDIENTS 

1. 4 cups cooked salad prawns (907 g)
2. 300 g onions, finely chopped
3. 2 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste( if you have time on hand, used fresh chopped ginger & garlic)
4. 4 Tbsp oil
5. 3 Tbsp coriander powder
6. Chili powder, to taste
7. 2 tsp. turmeric powder
8. 2 tsp perumjeerakam (fennel seed) powder
9. 2 tsp fenugreek powder
10. lemon juice or vinegar(at least 6 Tbsp) or 100 gm. wet tamarind soaked and pulp taken,  or to taste
11. salt, as needed (the prawns are already salted)

METHOD 

• Heat a sauté pan on medium-high heat. When warm, add oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onions, sauté, and let the onions turn translucent. Then add the garlic-garlic paste, sauté well till the raw taste goes away. 
• Add the spice powders, stir well, and add the cooked prawns; stir. Let cook; when the curry has reduced a bit, add lemon juice, vinegar, or tamarind pulp for tanginess. 
• Cook to the consistency that you like, gravy or dry fry. Add salt only if necessary. 

NOTES

• Kudam pulli goes well with prawns, but the sourness does not impart well to the prawns as prawns are already cooked. Kudampulli works well with liquid curries, where it has time to impart the sourness as it sits in the curry. 
•  Prawns are already salted, so no salt required. If any, add after adding lemon juice, vinegar, or tamarind pulp.