Spicy prawn roll

Peter Kuruvita serves this as a side for the kingfish curry, although traditionally in Sri Lanka, these rolls are called ‘short eats’ and are eaten as a snack.

• makes

  6

• prep

  1:05 hour

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 500 g orange sweet potato (kumara), roughly chopped
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) vegetable oil, plus extra, to deep-fry
• 2 cm piece ginger, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 long green chilli, seeded, finely chopped
• 10 curry leaves
• ¼ tsp ground fenugreek
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• ½ tsp ground chilli
• ¼ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 80 g green prawns, peeled, cleaned, roughly chopped
• 75 g (½ cup) plain flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 110 g (1½ cups) panko breadcrumbs (see Note)

Pancake batter

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten 
• 300 ml milk 
• 150 g (1 cup) plain flour 
• 3 tsp vegetable oil 
• olive oil spray

Instructions

Place kumara in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain, wipe pan clean with paper towel and reserve.

Meanwhile, to make batter, whisk together eggs and milk until well combined. Gradually whisk in flour until smooth. Stir in oil and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to fridge to rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make filling, heat oil in reserved pan over high heat. Cook ginger, garlic, onion, chilli and curry leaves for 3 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add spices and ½ tsp salt, and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add prawns and cook for 2 minutes or until just cooked. Add kumara and stir to combine, then lightly mash. Season with white pepper.

Heat a 25 cm frying pan over medium–high heat and spray with oil. Pour 60 ml (¼ cup) pancake batter into pan and swirl to coat base. Cook for 1 minute each side or until lightly browned on both sides. Transfer to a plate and cover with a clean tea towel. Repeat with remaining batter.

Place one-sixth of the prawn mixture in the centre of a pancake and shape mixture into a 10 cm log. Fold in sides of pancake and roll up tightly to enclose filling and form a tight roll; brush end of pancake with a little beaten egg to seal if necessary.

Place flour, eggs and breadcrumbs in separate shallow bowls and season. Dust prawn roll with flour, shaking off excess, then dip in eggs and coat in breadcrumbs.

Fill a deep-fryer or large saucepan one-third full with oil and heat over medium heat to 180°C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 10 seconds). Working in 2 batches, gently drop prawn rolls into oil and fry for 3 minutes or until golden and heated through. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.

Note
• Panko breadcrumbs are available from selected supermarkets and Asian food shops. 

Photography by Alan Benson.

As seen in Feast magazine, November 2011, Issue 3. For more recipes and articles, pick up a copy of this month's Feast magazine or check out our great subscriptions offers here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.