Eral, colloquially pronounced as “era / இறா” is one of the most popular pick among seafood varieties. Eral, as in Tamil refers to prawn / shrimp and varuval refers to a dry stir fry / dry curry.
Eral Varuval / Prawn Fry, is a south Indian style prawn fry which is extremely simple, straight forward pantry ingredients and takes just few minutes to make! My mom makes the best eral varuval / prawn fry and its happens during weekdays often paired with sambar or paruppu sadham. I have seen her makes this a million times and now its a staple at my place. The main highlight to this recipe is cumin, fennel and curry leaves which brings the best of flavor cooked with tiny kutty kutty prawns!
Unfortunately, tiny fresh prawns are so rare to find here and I get to make this dish only with jumbo / large shrimp variety that is commonly sold here in the USA.
Eral Varuval Recipe – Prawn Fry Recipe – How to mkae Prawn Fry – இறால் வறுவல் செய்வது எப்படி #eralvaruval #prawnfry #shrimpfry #ammavineralvaruval #amma
Here are few recipes using Prawn / Shrimp
Spicy Prawn Roast – Prawn Fry Recipe
Prawn vs Shrimp , what is the difference?
Well, though both closely related are two different species which are used interchangeably in recipes. Prawns are found in both fresh and salt water while shrimps mostly found in fresh water. There is no major conclusive flavor difference that distinguishes, except for the size, color and texture.
I find tiny prawns / chinna eral more sweet, delicate & tender when compared to large variety of shrimps that are sold here, especially those farm raised shrimps tend to be very meaty! I mostly go for “Patagonia Shrimps” a wild caught variety that comes from Argentina, which except for the color and size, tastes similar to our Indian Prawns.
Head- On, Unpeeled, Peeled & deveined
Raw Prawns or shrimp comes are available in different ways.
Head On – obviously includes the head, comes mostly as fresh as freezing head can feel very unpleasant and smell bad.
Unpeeled – they have their head removed, but still hold the shell and tail intact. Mostly available in frozen also fresh at some local markets.
Peeled and deveined – They have their shells removed, vein on the back removed and may or may not have a tail. Mostly available in frozen form. They are partially processed with chemicals and are kind of tasteless.
Cooked shrimps / prawns comes in frozen form, all shelled and deveined but are less likely to be tasty.
How to clean and devein Prawn / Shrimp ?
Start by defrosting the shrimp if using frozen. Place them in a bowl filled with cold water. You may skip if you have shelled, deveined shrimp / prawns.
If using fresh head on shrimp or prawns – twist the head and gently pull off the head.
Then pull off the legs, that should loosen the shell to slip off. Break open the shell along the underside and peel off.
Pinch off the tail, its often left on for cooking for more strong flavor. The rest of the shrimp should pull cleanly out of the tail.
There are two veins that run, one on top and the other on the bottom. The one that runs on the top or back is the intestinal tract of the shrimp. Just run a sharp knife and remove the dark gritty string like vein.
The clear vein on the bottom is not that unpleasant and can stay as its the blood vessel of the shrimp which is colorless. Run a knife and pull it off if you prefer to keep it more appetizing.
Eral varuval recipe
Ingredients
Saute
- 15 large Prawn / Shrimp or 40 tiny prawns
- 1.5 cups Onion chopped
- 1/2 cup Tomatoes ripe and juicy, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Ginger Garlic paste
- 3 each Green Chili slit open
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon Coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper powder freshly ground
- 1.5 teaspoon Salt or to taste
- 1/4 cup Coriander leaves
- 5 each Curry leaves
- 1 tsp Oil for stir frying
Temper
- 3 tablespoon Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 5 Curry leaves
Instructions
How to Clean & Devein Prawn / Shrimp
- Start by defrosting the shrimp if using frozen. Place them in a bowl filled with cold water. You may skip if you have shelled, deveined shrimp / prawns.If using fresh head on shrimp or prawns – twist the head and gently pull it off and discard!
- Then pull off the legs, that should loosen the shell to slip off. Break open the shell along the underside and peel it completely including the tail portion. The tail part is often left on for cooking for more strong flavor. The rest of the shrimp should pull cleanly out of the tail.
- There are two veins that run, one on top and the other on the bottom. The one that runs on the top or back is the intestinal / digestive tract of the shrimp. Just run a sharp knife and remove the dark gritty string like vein.
- The clear vein on the bottom is not that unpleasant and can stay as its the blood vessel of the shrimp which is colorless. Run a knife and pull it off if you prefer to keep it appetizing.
- Wash the prawns in cold water to remove any dirt or grit.
- Marinate with little turmeric powder and rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Heat oil in a pan, preferably a stainless steel pan or iron pan.
- Temper with mustard, cumin, fennel seeds and few curry leaves.
- Add the chopped onion and green chilies. Fry until soft, which takes about 5 minutes over medium flame.
- Add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes.
- Once done, add chopped tomato and cook until mushy. Cover and cook for few minutes to speed up the process.
- Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder and salt.
- Keep sautéing for few minutes stirring constantly. The mixture will turn slightly dry and chunky in about 6 to 7 minutes. Absolutely no water!! If you prefer a chunky masala texture, then add prawns at this stage. For a more dry texture or varuval, continue to fry.
- Saute for 5 to 6 minutes or until it attains a dry texture.
- Add cleaned shrimp at this stage, cook for 3 minutes over medium high flame. Prawn or shrimp takes very less time to cook, 3 to 4 minutes maximum.
- Add a teaspoon of oil and some curry leaves at this stage to avoid scorching at the bottom and to crisp up the masala.
- Garnish with coriander leaves, fry for few seconds and turn off the heat.
- Serve it as a side for any meal . Perfect with sambar or rasam sadham!
Video
Notes
- Using small onion instead of big will taste better. Use about 15 to 20 sambar onions / shallots.
- Adding freshly crushed ginger and garlic instead of ground ginger garlic paste will highlight a better taste & texture in every bite.
- For Jumbo / Large variety shrimps - use 1o to 15
- For Small variety prawns - use 40 to 50
- Always use shell on raw prawns as they taste better than cooked shrimp.
Eral Varuval Recipe / Prawn Fry Recipe Indian / Prawn Fry Tamil Style / Homestyle Prawn Fry / Era Varuval Recipe / South Indian Prawn Fry / South Indian Shrimp Fry / Shrimp Varuval Recipe / Shrimp Fry Recipe / இறால் வறுவல் / இறால் வறுவல் செய்வது எப்படி / Eral varuval in tamil / amma recipes
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