The ambot tik recipe is a must-try if you love spicy and tangy curries to go with your steamed rice.
Ambot means tangy and Tik means Spicy in Konkani.
It is a regular curry made in the Goan homes for an everyday meal. You can use any fish of your choice. I personally prefer either prawns, or mackerels or king fish for this recipe. The deep red colour of this gravy comes for the Kashmiri Chillies and the Byadgi chillies are used for the spicy flavour.
There is no set rule for the consistency of the gravy you can adjust as per your liking. But do not dilute it with lots of water it will end up losing the flavour.
Try the recipe and do leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Prawns Ambot Tik
Ingredients :
- 250gms of prawns, shelled and deveined
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 small tomato chopped
- 2 green chillieslit
- 1 tsp of vinegar
- A few kokam pieces
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt to Taste
- 1 cup of water approx (you can adjust the consistency)
For the ground masala :
- 5-6 Kashmiri chillies & 3-4 Byadgi chillies (these are spicier than Kashmiri Chillies)
- 1 tsp jeera
- 6 peppercorns
- 4 cloves
- 5 flakes garlic
- 2” inch of cinnamon piece
- 1 medium onion roughly chopped
- A small ball of tamarind (deseeded)
- A one-inch piece of ginger
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
Method :
- Apply a little salt and turmeric to the shelled and deveined prawns.
- Now grind all the ingredients that are mentioned for ground masala, to a fine paste.
- Heat oil in a cooking vessel and saute the chopped onions till light brown.
- To this add the tomatoes and salt and cook till nice and mushy
- Then add the ground paste and sauté well for a couple of minutes.
- Add about one cup of water and adjust as per the consistency of the gravy that you need.
- Add a few kokam pieces, slit green chillies, salt, sugar and the vinegar to the boiling and let it simmer for a good 5 to 10 minutes
- Then add the marinated prawns, slit green chilli, salt, sugar and vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Enjoy with a bowl of steaming hot rice or even with pao.
Handy tips :
- Do not add too much water to this curry. Keep the consistency a medium thick so as to not lose the flavour of the spices by diluting them.
- Prawns cook fast hence put them towards the end and cook for just about 5 to 8 minutes, else the prawns can turn rubbery.
- If you feel the curry is less tangy you can always add some more tamarind pulp or kokam pieces while the curry is cooking.
