Prawns~Penne (Pasta) Panna Upkari (Spicy Curry).

"Prawns~Penne (Pasta) Panna Upkari (Spicy Curry)" ... Yeah, its PPP all the way ... had just a handful of prawns, so added on some pasta and prepared my own fusion of amchi panna upkari .... tasted great, some more to go, till then enjoy this one ... Yumz .....

** I tried this fusion of Italian and Amchi dish, my very own concoction of mix and match dish today. I added on the penne pasta to our very own amchi panna upkari dish and it turned out marvelous. Panna Upkari is a very famous spicy Amchi dish that is loved by almost everybody be they vegetarian or non-vegetarians as the dish is prepared in either way. All GSB / Konkani Saraswat Community are familiar with Panna Upkari prepared with either fish, veggies or tuber variety. It is a spicy curry enjoyed having usually with rice. It is usually prepared grinding chillies without coconut with the addition of only tamarind and coriander seeds, but I add in a little bit of coconut to get a little bit of more gravy in the curry as we like a little bit of gravy in our dishes at home. Actually, you can say I am partial towards coconut, as addition of little bit while grinding not only gives a volume to the gravy but imparts a lovely flavour and gives it a good texture. 

** This dish can be served as a side dish with Dalitoy (spiced tuvar dal) and Rice or with roti too. Goes very well with freshly prepared shevai, khotto, Idly or panpole too. This time as I prepared it with addition of penne pasta to the curry, I have added in a few cloves of garlic too while grinding for extra aroma as penne tastes grate with a dash of garlic. In all a very delicious dish that was loved in my home by all. I served this accompanied with other dishes like pomfret fries and raw banana bhaji in my thali which I will be posting next to this one. But, personally I feel this dish will taste great as a side dish with some midly spiced pulav than dal-chawal or roti as it has a thick spicy gravy that tasted simply great with prawn flavor. Do try out this amchi version of penne which I prepared with addition of prawns, you can prepare it without the prawns too, if you are a vegetarian, tastes equally good. But if you are a fishitarian than do try out this combo, it was delicious and we loved it in my home. 

** Here is my simple method of preparing "Prawns~Penne (Pasta) Panna Upkari (Spicy Curry)" … My very own way … 

** Ingredients : 

Wheat Penne Pasta : About 20 large sized. 

Prawns / Sungata : 12-15 large sized. 

Coconut / Nariyal / Soyi : ½ cup freshly grated. 

Garlic / Losuna cloves : 2 + 2 large sized. 

Kashmiri Red Chillies : 15-20. 

Coriander /Kothimbir / Dhania Seeds : 1 tsp. 

Tamarind / Chinchama / Imly : Small lemon sized. 

Onions / Piyav / Kanda : 2 large sized finely chopped.

Red Chilly Powder / Laal Mirchi Powder : 1 tsp. 

Salt to taste / Namak. 

Oil : 4-5 tblsp. 

** Remove the outer shell part and de-vein the prawns. Wash under plenty of water, drain, apply a little bit of salt all over and keep them aside ready. 

** Rinse and add the wheat penne pasta (You can use any) into a liter of boiling water to which ½ a tsp of salt has been added. Cook on medium heat, stirring in between once or twice and cook till almost done. Remove and drain off the water completely and keep it ready aside. 

** For the Masala : Add into mixer grinder freshly grated coconut along with red kashmiri chillies (Plus or minus as per individual taste), a small lemon sized tamarind, coriander seeds, (fried in oil to light red colour), 2 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped with as little water as possible. The masala should be very fine, remove and keep it ready aside. 

** Heat oil in a thick bottomed vessel and add in the remaining garlic peeled and chopped finely and fry for a minute or two, now add in the finely chopped onion and fry them both together till they turn brown in colour, when browned, add in chilly powder and fry a bit. Addition of chilly powder is only to bring in the fiery red colour, you may leave out the step if you do not need it. Fry for a few seconds and then add in the ground paste, one cup of water, mix well and bring to a full boil. 

** Now add in salt to taste and the cooked and kept aside penne and mix well. The masala will have thickened well by now, do not add too much water. Once it come to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5-8 minutes till the penne has got well mixed in the gravy. Finally add in the cleaned and kept aside prawns and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for 4 minutes and it is done. Stir once or twice in between to avoid the masala getting burnt below. You can garnish with coriander leaves if you like, but traditional panna upkari does not include it so I have not added on the same. 

"Prawns~Penne (Pasta) Panna Upkari (Spicy Curry)" is done and ready to be served. Serve it hot as a side dish with any dish of your choice. I served it in thali with some pomfret fries and raw banana upkari with dalitoy-chawal. But I feel it would taste great with mildly spiced pulav or with roti/naan too. Try this fusion dish and enjoy with your family and friends. Children love pastas and they are sure to love this dish. Panna upkari is supposed to be very spicy and I have retained that, you can increase or decrease the spice level if you have young children at home or you personally do not like spicy food. Do try out the dish and remember to give me a feedback on the same. 

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