My Mystery Prawns & the Gangnam Dance ;)

It was Sunday, 7^th Oct 2012, - ICC World Twenty20 Finals West Indies v/s Sri Lanka. I thanked God that India did not qualify; as I, for the first time was able to support the Jamaican wholeheartedly. I mean, the Icon, Christopher Henry Gayle. I completely adore him. I was mad when he was dropped from the West Indian side and he was not the Skipper any more & am super happy now that he is back, with a bang!

Remember this? My heart broke seeing him amongst the spectators and not in the ground. But just look at him, remarkable spirit !!

Loved every bit of the Semi-Finals before this v/s Australia where Pollard & Gayle sent the Aussies back home on the next flight. Was all keyed up about the grand finale on Sunday, was back home on time and turned on the Television. I still shudder to think what I was seeing, a much talked about West Indian side was being crushed by the Lankan bowling attack; there was no Gayle storm, there was no Pollard either. However, Marlon Samuels with his 78 off 56 balls let the Caribbean’s breathe again. Then it was Sri Lanka out to bat and Sunil Narine, the blessing in disguise had a mind-blowing spell of 3/9. After a lot of speculation and confusion, the pendulum (read : the Cup) swinging from Sri Lanka to West Indies & vice versa every now and then; after a little bit of drizzle that puzzled the players and spectators all the more of the unfathomable Duckworth-Lewis, ultimately it was West Indies. I cannot express how happy I was seeing the entire team do the Gangnam dance!! It is indeed true, no one can celebrate like them.

Another loss in the Finals for Sri Lanka, my heart goes out to Sangakkara. Nevertheless, super happy for West Indies.

Amidst all this hullabaloo, I had to make dinner for the two of us & almost forgot about the Prawns sitting on my Kitchen table. No particular recipe in mind. I was not in the mood to make anything else either, only plain white Rice. Hence threw whatever I had in my stockpile in, combined a few sauces & the result was excellent. We enjoyed a sumptuous dinner as the T20 World Cup came to a close and the Player of the tournament went to Shane Watson. I hate it when such an important recognition is given only based on Stats, huh! In my eyes, it is you ... Gayle!!

Had to give this preparation a name, hence after some random thoughts, decided to name it Mystery Prawns, after the Mystery Bowler, Sunil Narine. After all the win would have been impossible without him on the D Day. I wish him all the very best for the upcoming Champions League where he represents my City, Calcutta. Go KKR!

Here is what you will need to make my Mystery Prawns

Prawns – medium sized – cleaned and de-veined – 400 gms. Tails on or off is up to you to decide. I did not have them on.

Onion – 1 medium, cut out in small petals like shown in the picture.

Dried Red Chilli – 2 - chopped

Green Bell Pepper – 1 medium – thinly sliced

Tomato – 1 medium – deseeded – thinly sliced

Garlic – 8 small to medium cloves – grated or minced

Butter (I used Salted) – 1 tsp

Olive Oil – 1 tsp

Chilli Oil – 1 tsp

Red Chilli Sauce – 1 tsp

Green Chilli Sauce – 1 tsp

Dark Soy Sauce – ½ tsp

Salt to taste (I did not use any as I uses salted Butter + all the sauces had some amount of Salt in them)

Pepper to taste

Egg - 1 - scrambled - (optional) - for Plating

How to make Mystery Prawns

·         Heat Butter, Olive Oil & Chilli Oil in a Wok.

·         Add the grated garlic, sauté till fragrant.

·         Add the Onion petals & the chopped dried Red Chillies, keep sautéing. Keep the heat on medium high to high depending on your stove. Do not burn them but the heat needs to be pretty high.

·         After about 2-3 minutes, add the sliced Tomatoes and the sliced Green Bell Peppers.

·         Keep stirring for another minute or two.

·         Add the Red Chilli Sauce, Green Chilli Sauce and the Dark Soy Sauce and keep stirring.

·         After a couple of minutes, add the washed and de-veined Prawns.

·         Keep stirring, the Prawns will take a maximum of 4 minutes to cook on high. Turn off the stove after a taste test & checking if the Prawns have turned a nice pink.

·         I plated it with some Chilli Flakes.

·         Later I also scrambled an Egg and added. Yes, I know I am mad! Nevertheless, it tasted delicious with fragrant Basmati Rice. Hence ‘hail madness!’ :D