Chemmeen Vada – Kerala Style Prawn Fritters

Location: A small town in Kerala
Characters: Yours truly and her aunt
Almanac: Late 80’s

Scene: A young girl……in her favourite topaz blue frock, printed with cute little heart shapes in white, with laces around the neck, tied with a pretty little bow on the back, sitting casually on the kitchen counter, indulging herself in a casual conversation with her aunt who is also in a very light mood…..smiling and talking to the little girl while she pounds a handful of prawns with a mortar and pestle set…and mixes some spices…..fires up a small “cheena-chatti” ( a mini Chinese wok).....pours some oil….then she goes out in a haste and comes back with a fresh plantain leaf cut from the backyard……washes the leaf in a hurry…..and takes some mixture, makes a ball….flattens them on the plantain leaf….slides each of ‘em into the hot oil…..she keeps the fried ones aside on a plate…..our little girl, still talking incessantly, sitting on the counter, kicking her legs in the air carelessly, picks up the fried ones and nibbles 'em, still entertaining her aunt with all her stories ……..this frying and talking and nibbling continue…..and after almost 10-15 minutes aunt notices an empty plate on the side and hiding her astonishment, she tells the little girl, “Honey…..keep 1-2 for your uncle as well!” Girl realizes her mistake and in embarrassment she replies,” ohhh….I am so sorreee…..I forgot that completely…….and this tasted so yummmmmmmm ….I have never had such a tasty snack " :)

- The End -

This is one of the many childhood yarns associated with yours truly, in our family circles……an anecdote that excites everyone while narrating whenever there is a family get-together over food, with a prawn dish in particular…….my aunt still affectionately recollects this episode whenever I meet her……she did not fail to share the story with CJJ, the day she got to entertain him with her tasty preparations… this was a double appetizer for him…….and after all these years, even when I was on my vacation last year, when I was enjoying my full piece of Karimeen Porichathathu, fried pearl spots, she went on to dig up the old thread again!!!!! :) And I do enjoy all those teasing…some of my childhood memories that’s still evergreen in my mind……..and for more than a month, this childhood episode was hitting the shores of my mind with waves of nostalgia, and I saw myself finally cooking up this delicacy! :-) This time I had no competition as uncle was not there and CJJ, not being a prawn lover, I got to eat the maximum and had to share only 2-3 with him :D

Ingredients:

• ½ lb (Approx. ¼ kg) prawns or shrimp peeled, deveined and washed thoroughly.
• 4-5 small red pearl onions/shallots
• ½ to ¾ tbsp finely chopped ginger
• 7-9 fresh green chillies
• A small sprig of curry leaves coarsely chopped
• ¼ tsp of turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Directions:

• Using a small jar of the food processor or blender, make a coarse paste of the small onions, green chillies, ginger and curry leaves. To this, add the cleaned prawns or shrimp and run the processor until everything combines well, forming a coarse paste and add turmeric powder and salt to taste. Do not make them too smooth as you do for chutney or other condiments.
• Make around 10-12 small balls with this mixture and flatten them into a round shape; For flattening, keep the ball of mixture onto your left palm and press it with your right palm. You can do this either on a plastic wrap sheet or a plantain leaf as well, whichever is convenient.
• Heat oil in a small saucepan, deep fry each of them, in low-medium heat, until it is cooked or reaches brown colour. Serve warm with a hot cup of tea/chai.

Mistakes made and tricks learnt:
I added only 7 green chillies which did not provide me the required heat, so I ended up adding ½ tsp red chilly powder, which compromised the visual appeal, resulting in a slightly black colour, according to my mother. So it is better to go with green chillies alone. From the photographs, my mother felt that my base mixture of small onion, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves were not a coarse paste exactly, which was true to an extent :D Yes, she is a perfectionist in cooking! So, make sure that you follow both the tips to make your Chemmeen Vada/Prawn Fritters, appealing not only to your palate but also to your eyes :)

Verdict: A ‘must try’ for prawn lovers! The ones in pictures were the last two ‘saved’ with great difficulty, for the sheer act of photographing this dish, to blog!!

Luv
Shn

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