Ingredients

• To make the prawn cakes:
• 500g - prawns or shrimps, cleaned and shelled
• 1 tbsp - chana dal (chick peas)
• 2 green chillies
• 1/2 tsp - peppercorns, ground to a paste
• 4-inch piece ginger, ground to a paste
• 2 cloves garlic, ground to a paste
• 2 tsp - chopped green coriander leaves
• 1 tsp - powdered garam masala
• 2 tbsp - ghee
• 1 coconut, grated
• 2 onions, halved and finely sliced
• 12-inch length of foil
• Oil for frying the steamed prawns. For the curry:
• 1/2 tsp - turmeric paste
• 1 tsp - chilli paste
• 2 onions ground to a paste
• 1 tsp - garlic paste1 tbsp - ginger paste
• 1/2 cup - curd
• 2 bay leaves
• Garam masala
• 2 cups - water
• 3 tbsp - ghee
• Salt and sugar to taste

How to Make Steamed prawn cakes with yoghurt

• Soak the dal overnight in water.
• Chop the prawns and grind together into a thick paste with grated coconut and the soaked dal.
• Mix in the ground masala paste.
• Heat the ghee in a pan and brown onions till just turning crisp.
• Add the ghee, coriander leaves, garam masala and salt to the prawn paste. Mix well.
• The paste should be semi-solid.
• Place the paste in a dish approximately one inch deep or on the centre of the piece of foil and pat into an oblong approximately half-inch thick.
• Fold foil over to completely seal in the prawn paste.
• In a suitable sized pan, heat water until simmering and carefully immerse the foil packet with prawn paste into the water.
• Cover pan and steam prawn gently for 30 mins.
• Remove packet from water and when cool enough to touch, open foil packet and cut the shrimp paste (which should now to quite solid), diagonally into diamond shapes or into squares.
• Heat oil in a kadai and fry the prawn cakes until lightly browned. Remove when done and drain off oil.
• The prawn paste can be placed in a pressure cooker and steamed for 15 mins under 15 lb pressure instead of steaming in a pan.
• Heat ghee in a pan till smoking and then add the bay leaves and garam masala. Fry for a couple of mins.
• Add the ground masala paste and onions.
• Fry the masala for several mins sprinkling with water as necessary so that it does not catch at the bottom of the pan.
• When masala is well fried, add half a cup of the remaining water and the prawn cakes, salt and sugar as preferred.
• Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 mins. Mix the curd and the remaining water together and strain into pan.
• Simmer for another 10-12 mins. and remove from fire.
• Variation: The prawn dhoka can be cooked as for cream curry using thick coconut milk instead of curd.