Never cooked prawns? Start here
Your first prawn dinner, in 20 minutes
మీ మొదటి రొయ్యల వంట — రొయ్యల వేపుడు
Royyala vepudu: Andhra prawn fry with chilli, garlic and curry leaves, in one pan. Prawns cook faster than chicken, and ours come peeled and de-veined, so there is nothing to clean.
What to buy
1 kg Vannamei Medium, whole — we clean it free
Pick up at our Manikonda shop, 7am–9pm. A plate here means the prawns only; the onions and masala you have at home.
You'll need
- 500 g cleaned prawns (from 1 kg whole)
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- Ginger-garlic paste
- Red chilli powder
- Turmeric
- Curry leaves
- Mustard seeds
- Salt, oil, a lime
How to make it
- Marinate prawns in turmeric, chilli powder, ginger-garlic, salt — 10 min.
- Crackle mustard seeds in oil, add curry leaves, then onions. Fry till deep golden.
- Add prawns on high heat. Let them sear 1 min before stirring.
- Toss 3–4 min till the masala dries and clings — cook just until pink, don't overcook or they turn rubbery.
- Finish with a squeeze of lime. Serve with hot rice and ghee.
Three things first-timers get wrong
Cooking them too long
Prawns are done the moment they turn pink and opaque — usually 3 to 4 minutes on high heat. Keep going and they turn rubbery. When in doubt, take them off a minute early; they keep cooking in the hot pan.
Crowding the pan
Too many prawns at once and they boil in their own water instead of searing. Use your widest pan, or cook in two batches.
Adding them too early
Get the onions and masala done first, then add the prawns at the end. In curries too: build the gravy, slide the prawns in for the last few minutes.
Liked it? Make it a weekly dinner
Try a different dish next week: royyala pulusu, butter garlic prawns or prawn biryani. If prawns become a weekly habit, a monthly plan saves 10% and has your box ready on your day.