Coconut and Cumin Prawns

(serves 4)

1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsps butter
3 cloves gar­lic, minced
2 tsps ground cumin
1 white onion, minced
1 can plum toma­toes, squeezed by hand over skillet
1 tsp sea salt
3 red chill­ies, deseed­ed and chopped
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 can coconut milk
2 pounds raw prawns, shelled
hand­ful fresh corian­der, rough­ly chopped

In a large skil­let, melt the but­ter with the oil and then add the gar­lic, cumin and onion and saute until soft. Squeeze the toma­toes to crush them, and add all the juice. Add the salt, chill­ies (wash your hands before you rub your eyes! I did­n’t), turmer­ic, chilli pow­der and garam masala and cook down until toma­toes are thick. Add the coconut milk and blend well. At this point you can put the sauce aside and get on with your oth­er dish­es. Then five min­utes or so before you want to eat, heat the sauce again till bub­bling and add the shrimps. Cook until they turn thor­ough­ly pink, then stop the heat and serve with rice.