This prawn pathia curry is a genuinely great hot and sour dish, similar to dhansak, with roots in Persia and brought to India by Parsi immigrants centuries ago. It's not something you'll often spot on a UK high street curry menu, which is exactly why it's worth making at home.

A small piece of trivia while you're at it: Queen's late frontman Freddie Mercury was a Parsi, born in Zanzibar and raised there and in India. Whether or not that's true of the specific dish in front of you, it's a decent excuse to put "Bohemian Rhapsody" on while you cook.

This prawn pathia curry works brilliantly with chicken too, if prawns aren't to hand — the sweet, sour and hot balance is really the whole point, and it holds up well whatever protein carries it.

Ingredients

• 250g peeled king prawns
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp tamarind concentrate
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp garam masala

Spice Mix 1:

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds

Spice Mix 2:

• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp cumin powder

Method

Heat the ghee in a pan and gently fry the onion and garlic until golden brown.

Add Spice Mix 1 and fry for 1 minute. Add Spice Mix 2 and fry for a further 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add the tomatoes and fry for about 10 minutes, until the oil separates.

Dissolve the tamarind concentrate and sugar in 125ml of hot water. Add to the pan and bring to the boil. Adjust the sourness and sweetness to taste, then simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Add the prawns and garam masala. Cook very gently for 1–2 minutes.

Adjust the sourness once more if needed, with more tamarind or a splash of white vinegar. This prawn pathia curry should land sweet, sour and hot in roughly equal measure.

Why This Prawn Pathia Curry Works

This prawn pathia curry is part of my curry recipes collection — bold flavours, honest cooking, from Casa Adora and the road.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures – The Flexible Chef