Prawn Pathia | Restaurant Style Prawn Curry

To make the perfect prawn pathia, you need to get the combination of sweet and sour flavours just right for your own personal tastes.

In this recipe, the sweetness comes from sugar and smooth mango chutney and the sour flavours are the lemon juice and tamarind. I have developed this popular prawn pathia to suit my own preferences but you can easily add more sweetness or sourness at the end. Taste it before serving and then add sugar, mango chutney, lemon juice and/or tamarind as required.

About my prawn pathia...

Prawn pathia is a curry house favourite. This recipe is very similar to the chicken pathia recipe in my cookbook ‘The Curry Guy Bible’ but with prawns and a couple other small changes.

When making seafood curries like this prawn pathia, I like to add mustard seeds and fresh or frozen curry leaves. These flavours go so well with seafood.

What makes a good prawn pathia?

Pathia curries are sweet and sour.

The idea behind the curry house pathia was to come up with a curry that could compete with the hugely popular sweet and sour curries at Chinese takeaways.

Although there are many variations of prawn pathia, these sour and sweet flavours are essential and can be accomplished in different ways.

This is my version with the sweet flavours coming from the sugar and mango chutney and sour flavours from the tamarind and lemon juice.

Ingredients

Fresh ingredients are key to getting the best flavour from this Prawn Pathia recipe. You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin. All of the authentic Indian restaurant style curry recipes on my site use a base curry sauce. My 'go to' recipe is here.

See recipe card for quantities.

rapeseed (canola) oil or ghee
black mustard seeds
fresh curry leaves
medium onion - finely chopped
garlic and ginger paste
mixed powder
Kashmiri chilli powder
sugar
tomato puree
base sauce
raw peeled tiger prawns
mango chutney
tamarind concentrate
dried fenugreek leaves
Coriander (Cilantro) to garnish\
Salt to taste
lemon

Step by step photos

Below, you’ll see step-by-step photographs to guide you through the recipe. At the bottom of the page, you’ll also find the full recipe card, which includes the complete list of ingredients and written instructions in an easy, printable format.

Step 1:Heat the oil or ghee in a pan and add the mustard seeds.

Step 2: When the seeds begin to crackle, add the curry leaves and fry for about 30 seconds.

Step 3: Add the chopped onions and fry for 3 minutes. Then add the ground spices.

Step 4: Stir in the garlic and ginger paste, stir for 30 seconds then add tomato puree and bring to a simmer.

Step 5: Add a ladle or two of base sauce to the pan.

Step 6: Then add the raw prawns to the curry.

Step 7: Cook the prawns through adding a little more base as required then add the tamarind and mango chutney.

Step 8: Add the dried fenugreek leaves.

Step 9: Garnish with the coriander and season with salt to taste. Squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Serve hot with rice and top with fresh coriander and enjoy!

Working ahead…

In this prawn pathia recipe I cook the prawns from raw.

Many people, including myself at time like to add tandoori prawns. This takes some forward planning but adds another layer of deliciousness.

You will also need to prepare the curry house style base sauce. Here is my recipe.

Once you’ve got that made, you can prepare this prawn pathia curry in less than 10 minutes.

What do you serve with Prawn Pathia?

Other Curries: If you are serving a group, why not make a few other popular rich Indian curries such as Chicken Korma, Chicken Madras, Chicken Dhansak, Lamb Rogan Josh, Lamb Vindaloo, Chicken Chilli Garlic, Chicken Patia, Lamb Bhuna

Rice Dishes: All of these side dishes will go great with dahi chicken curry - Steamed Basmati Rice, Boiled Basmati Rice, Pilau Rice, Mushroom Fried Rice

Breads: Tandoori Naans, Tandoori Roti , Chapatis, Spiced Chapatis , Stovetop Naans,

Dals: Chana Dal , Tarka Dal, Spinach Dal , Dal Makhani

Storage

Fridge: Allow your dish to cool completely, then store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Flavours often develop even more after a night in the fridge.
Freezer: Portion and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then reheat gently on the hob or in the oven until piping hot.

Top Tip

Cook the prawns right at the end — just a few minutes in the sauce — so they stay plump and juicy instead of turning rubbery.

FAQ

How spicy should a prawn pathia be?

This is really up to you. You will see in the recipe that I only use a little chilli powder as this is one that my kids loved growing up.
I have had a few prawn pathias that were quite spicy and love them though.
So feel free to add more chilli powder if that is the curry you are going for.
You could also add fresh, finely chopped green chillies to taste.

Should I use oil or ghee?

This again is down to you. If you prefer a buttery flavour, go for the ghee. It tastes amazing.
If not, go for the oil. This too is incredible.

Do I need to make a curry base gravy for this?

To get true restaurant-style results, yes but you can still make a great pathia at home by blending onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes into a smooth sauce and cooking it down hard before adding the prawns

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

Rice

Naan

Dahls

Have you tried this recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

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