"Sukkale Sungta Panna Upkari / Dried Prawns Spicy Curry" .. A traditional age old recipe from Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared in fish lovers home ... this was one of my father's favorite dish and I do miss him whenever I prepare it ... a delicious side dish that goes very well served with dalitoy -rice or shevai/ panpolo etc. ... Yummiclicious ....
** This is re-edited version, the recipe however remains the same, only the picture is changed and a little bit of note about the curry is added on.
** Sukkale Sungata or Dried Prawns are very aromatic and tasty when added on dishes. Fish eaters from Konkani Saraswat Community, make it a point to buy them in bulk available in plenty during the month of summer, dry it out in the sun again for a day or two and then store it in air tight containers. They remain good for the whole year, till the time for new stocking comes up. In Mumbai too these are available and in my home we love this very much. A handful added to certain dishes enhances the dishes taste twice as much. Vaali ie Malabar Spinach/Mayalu/Basale a leafy creeper veggie tastes the best with the addition of dried prawns and I have already posted the same in the blog. Panna Upkari is for those who love very spicy dishes and this goes very well as a side dish with dal-rice as well as roti/dosa or even shevai.
** In Mumbai, we are lucky to get them all cleaned up as removing its head and tail is a tedious task and the prawns having sharp edges and whiskers they sometimes prick the fingers and at times a tiny bit may even end up within the skin, so you have got to be careful with it while cleaning. In my parents home we always had to do it as those days they were not available cleaned, I am not sure if you get them cleaned in Mangalore my home town but in Mumbai we do get and I must consider myself lucky as major task is done with. All you need to do is just give a glance over so that there is no dust or dirt particles, but my fish vendor though charges more, gives the best one’s wherein I actually don’t even need to check it out. All you need to do is soak them in hot water for some time, rinse well and they are ready to be cooked.
** Here is my method of preparing "Sukkale Sungta Panna Upkari/ Dried Prawns Spicy Curry" … My Style …
** Clean about 2 cups of Dried Prawns/ Sukkale Sungata by removing its head and tail if any. Soak them in plenty of hot water for about 20-30 minutes. Rinse well and keep it ready aside.
** For the Masala: Grind to a very fine paste 3 tblsp of coconut (optional), 1 tsp coriander seeds, 12-15 kashmiri red chillies and marble sized tamarind with little bit of water. Do not make the ground masala to thin, by adding in to much water while grinding. Remove and keep it aside ready.
** Peel of the outer skin and chop 3-4 large sized Onions finely and keep it ready aside. Wash, wipe dry and chop 1 large or 2 medium sized Ripe Tomatoes and keep them also ready aside.
** Heat about 1/2 cup oil in a thick bottomed kadai. When hot add in the finely chopped onions and fry them till they are evenly browned. Do not let them burn or the dish will turn bitter. Now add in 1 tblsp of Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder and fry for a second or two.
** Now add in ground masala and continue frying for 2-3 minutes. Add in the finely chopped tomatoes and about one cup of water and bring to a boiling point on medium flame. Now lower the heat and add the prepared and kept prawns, salt to taste and mix well.
** Lower the heat to minimum, cover and let simmer for a good 10-15 minutes. Do stir in one or twice and check the consistency. If need be do add in some water. This is a semi dry dish with slightly thinner textured gravy, but spicy one.
** "Sukkale Sungta Panna Upkari/ Dried Prawns Spicy Curry" is done and ready to be served. This dish is a semi dry consistency dish that tastes great when served as side dish along with dalitoy and Rice or with chapatti. We even relish this curry with dosa specially panpolo as it tastes awesome. Another combo that tastes awesome with this one is homemade rice shevai.
** Do try out various options with this dish as accompaniment and enjoy them with your family and friends. If simmered well, once cooled you can put this in the fridge and it remains good for almost 3 days and can be reheated and served too. Saves on time and tastes great too, a boon when you are having busy schedule or guest coming over.
** Note 1 : Many people do not add coconut while grinding, but I do as in my home we like to have a little bit of gravy for any dishes.
** Note 2 : Again, addition of tomatoes are a matter of choice. Traditionally it was not added, in which case you need to increase the amount of tamarind added while grinding by double.
** Note 3 : Addition of red chilly powder once the onions are fried in my variation as it imparts a lovely color to the dish. In fact you can increase the amount upto 3 tblsp depending upon the spice level of your family, I have made medium spicy, though the dish is supposed to be very spicy as nowadays somehow, we cannot tolerate too much spice.
** Note 4: Always grind some red kumte chillies or red kashmiri chillies for the masala as it gives thicker texture to the gravy than when only powder is added, so do not substitute by adding in extra chilly powder only, though the same can be done, if it is for very small quantity.
** I am sharing a common link for all types of “Panna Upkari” below, where in the same dish is prepared with different types of veggies, you can check out the same too …
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