Asma Khan’s new cookbook, Ammu, is named after her mother – and it’s full of recipes from different family members.

This one is from Khan’s childhood nursemaid, who she called Ma. Described as a “formidable person”, Khan says Ma always made this dish for her when she returned home to India from England.

“It’s a simple, heart-warming, no-fuss dish that only takes 45 minutes or so to make. I eat Ma’s prawns with plain boiled rice.”

Ma’s prawns

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

3 onions

150ml mustard oil (if you can’t find it, use vegetable oil)

1 tsp ginger paste

½ tsp garlic paste

½ tsp ground turmeric

1½ tsp chilli powder

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

2 green chillies, slit in half

1 tsp salt

1.25kg raw peeled prawns, deveined

Fresh coriander, to garnish

Method:

1. Put the onions in a food processor and blitz to a paste.

2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium–high heat. Add half of the onion paste and cook until it turns light brown. Add the remaining onion paste, ginger, garlic, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin, ground coriander, green chillies, salt and four tablespoons of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Remove the lid, increase the heat and cook the paste until you can see the oil coming to the surface. Add the prawns and cook, uncovered, over a medium heat for 10–15 minutes until the prawns have changed colour and are cooked through. Serve immediately, garnished with coriander.

‘Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul ‘by Asma Khan (published by Ebury Press, £26; photography by Laura Edwards), available now.

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