Red Palak and Prawns Curry or Tonak is a coconut based recipe in which prawns and red palak are cooked with ground coconut and spices. The result is an excellent main course dish which is savored with Pao in Goa.
Ingredients
Red Palak: 2 bunches washed and chopped
Prawns : 1 cup small shelled and deveined
Onion : 2 big
Whole Masoor: ¾ cup
Cinnamon : ½ inch piece
Cloves : 4
Peppercorns : 10-12
Bay Leaf: 1
Coriander seeds: 2-3 tsp
Fennel Seeds: 1 tsp
Garlic : 2 cloves finely chopped
Ginger: ¼ inch piece
Scraped Coconut: 1 cup
Dry Red Chilies: 5 small
Tamarind: 1 marble sized ball
Turmeric Powder: 1 and ½ tsp
Chili Powder: 1 tsp
Salt: to taste
Instructions
Apply ½ tsp turmeric powder and 1 tsp chili powder to prawns and keep aside.
Wash and soak the masoor in sufficient water for 6-8 hours. Pressure cook the masoor with ½ tsp salt for 2-3 whistles till cooked.
In a pan, mix together the red palak, 1 finely chopped onion, prawns, salt to taste and ¾ -1 cup of water and cook for a few minutes till the prawns are cooked.
Add the cooked masoor to the palak and mix well. Add the ground mixture from step 3 and mix well.
Add 1 tsp turmeric powder and salt to taste. Bring to boil.
If the gravy looks too dry, you can add a little water.
Garnish with coriander
Notes
I have used the above measurements of spices several times in India with perfect results. However, sometimes the spices are much stronger (for e.g in the Gulf where I live now). In that case you might want to reduce the spices. I usually reduce the stronger spices by around 25% when I make tonak in Bahrain.You may increase or decrease the chilies based on what suits your taste. You may increase or decrease the chilies based on what suits your taste.
Recipe by YourHungerStop at https://www.yourhungerstop.com/red-palak-and-prawns-curry-or-tonak/