Camarons

Ingredients

Prawns

• 8large freshwater prawns, camarons, about 1.2 kg

Marinade

• 4 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 2cm ginger, grated
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 tspturmeric
• salt and pepper

Curry version

• 2onions, chopped
• 3 tbspMauritian curry powder
• 10curry leaves
• 3tomatoes
• 200 mlcoconut milk, optional
• 3 tbspoil
• a bunch coriander

Grilled version

• 80 gbutter
• 6 clovesgarlic
• chopped parsley
• lime wedges

To serve

• with rice, with farata, or with bread

Directions

1. Squeeze the contents of the heads into the sauce, or leave the prawns whole and let it cook out. Rinse them, and if they are very large, split them lengthways through the shell. Splitting them helps the marinade and the sauce reach the flesh, and it makes them easier to eat. Leave the shells on, which protect the flesh and add flavour to the sauce.
2. Rub them with garlic, ginger, lime, turmeric and salt and leave them fifteen to twenty minutes. Do not marinate them in lime for longer than half an hour, since the acid begins to cure the flesh. Fry the onions in oil until soft and golden, which takes ten minutes.
3. Add the curry powder and curry leaves and fry them for a minute with a splash of water. Adding a splash of water with the spice stops it burning, since curry powder scorches in seconds in hot oil.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them down until the oil separates. Cook the base properly before the prawns go anywhere near it, since they need only minutes.
5. Add the camarons and any coconut milk and cook for four to five minutes only. If using coconut milk, keep it at a bare simmer, since boiling splits it. Squeeze the heads into the sauce as they cook. Stir in chopped coriander off the heat. Melt butter with plenty of crushed garlic and brush it over the flesh.
6. Grill them over charcoal or under a hot grill for three or four minutes on the flesh side. Cook them mostly on the cut side, since the shell protects the flesh and the flesh side takes the char.
7. Baste them with more garlic butter as they cook. Serve the curry with plain rice, farata or bread to soak up the sauce. Serve the grilled version with lime wedges and the pan butter poured over.

Technique

• Camaron populations have declined and there are legal restrictions on catching them.
• The fat in the heads is what enriches the curry.
• They cook in four or five minutes and go rubbery beyond that.

Substitutions

• Farmed Macrobrachium, which is widely available.
• Large sea prawns, though the flavour is less sweet.

Variations

• Grilled with garlic butter rather than curried.
• With coconut milk in the curry.
• Made with a rougaille tomato sauce.

History

Caught in the rivers of the southwest around Rivière Noire, camarons are the most expensive local seafood and a Sunday-lunch luxury.

Frequently asked questions

What is Camarons?

Camarons is a main from Mauritius: large freshwater prawns curried or grilled, a river delicacy. Caught in the rivers of the southwest around Rivière Noire, camarons are the most expensive local seafood and a Sunday-lunch luxury.

How long does Camarons take to make?

Camarons takes 25 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Camarons?

Yes, within limits. Farmed Macrobrachium, which is widely available. Large sea prawns, though the flavour is less sweet.

What is the most important thing to get right in Camarons?

Rub them with garlic, ginger, lime, turmeric and salt and leave them fifteen to twenty minutes. Do not marinate them in lime for longer than half an hour, since the acid begins to cure the flesh. Fry the onions in oil until soft and golden, which takes ten minutes.