Feral Cooks

Good food shouldn't be tame

Thenga Konju Curry (Coconut Prawn Curry)

By Leave a Comment


Shrimp curry again! This time it’s Indian, from the Goan region.

This is really easy to make, and it’s quite flavorful. It does have a lot of hot pepper in it, so if you don’t like it so spicy, maybe use 1.5 or 1 pepper, instead of the three.

This goes well with either naan or basmati rice.

What you’ll need

  • 3 cups sliced onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
  • 3 hot chilis (I used serrano), seeded and chopped (wear nitrile gloves for this)
  • 3T neutral oil
  • 1t turmeric
  • 1t ground cumin
  • 1t salt
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • 0.5t ground cinnamon
  • 0.25t ground cloves
  • 14-oz can coconut milk or coconut cream
  • 1.5 lbs. large prawns, shelled and deveined (the recipe accommodates only 1 pound, if you don’t want to make so much)

What to do

Heat the oil in a large cast-iron frypan or wok over medium heat before adding the onions. Cook for a few minutes until the onion softens and takes on a little color. Add the garlic, ginger, chopped chilis and all of the spices. Continue cooking and stirring over low-medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk and bring it to a medium simmer. Add the prawns and simmer them for about 5 – 7 minutes, until thoroughly cooked.

Serve over basmati rice or with naan.

Fried Bacon-wrapped Avocado

By 2 Comments

Wow, this is delicious. How could pairing avocado with bacon not be?

Yeah, it’s deep fried, so it’s probably best only eaten occasionally, but avocado is a vegetable, so there’s that as a lame way of justifying cooking something so unhealthy.

That’s all I have so say about it. Enjoy!

What you’ll need

  • 2 large avocados, cut in half, pitted, and skinned
  • 4 half-slices of thick-cut bacon
  • Oil for frying

What to do

Begin heating your cooking oil to 350 degrees F.

Cut the avocado in half, lengthwise, carefully removing pit and peeling off the skin so you have two intact avocado halves. To remove the pit, by the way, do NOT try to puncture it with the point of a knife. There are apparently tons of emergency room visits due to careless cooks missing the pit and puncturing their palm. Instead, carefully tap the sharp edge of the knife blade into the pit and rotate it out.

Wrap each avocado half with a slice of bacon, tucking in the ends to make it a package—see the photo.


When the oil has reached temperature, carefully lower the avocado halves into it with a spoon or metal spider. Let them cook for about 3.5 – 4 minutes or until the bacon is cooked through and crispy.

Remove from the oil with a metal spider when done, letting the avocado drain on paper towels or a rack before serving hot.

Tandoori Murgh (grilled chicken skewers)

By Leave a Comment


Here’s a great Indian chicken kabab that’s really easy to make. The cumin, cloves, garlic, ginger, garam masala and yogurt give it one of the quintessential “Indian” flavors.

Note that you’ll really want to marinade the chicken in the yogurt mixture at least overnight, and chicken thighs will make for a more flavorful and juicy chicken, over breast meat.

What you’ll need

  • 4 cloves (ground in a spice grinder)
  • 3T cumin seeds (ground in a spice grinder)
  • 0.33 cups plain, whole-milk yogurt (Greek or Middle Eastern, if possible)
  • 4T peeled and chopped ginger
  • 4T chopped garlic
  • 1.5t chili powder
  • 1T garam masala
  • 1.5t paprika
  • 0.5t kosher salt
  • 1 lb skinned and deboned chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
  • 8 – 10 wooden skewers

Put all the ingredients but the chicken into a blender or small food processor and blend until you have a smooth paste.

Cut up the chicken thighs into strips and pieces appropriate for threading on wooden skewers. In a bowl or sealable freezer bag, combine the chicken and marinade, ensuring each piece of chicken is slathered in marinade. Cover the bowl or seal the bag and refrigerate at least overnight or 24 hours.

Before you’re planning to grill or broil, submerge the skewers in water for at least an hour, which will help (but not completely prevent) them from charring too much while cooking.

When you’re ready to cook, remove the skewers from soaking and thread chicken pieces on each one. When they’re all threaded, it’s time to cook. If broiling in an oven, set it to high-temp broil. Put cooking racks on a sheet pan and oil the grates or spray them with cooking spray. Lay the chicken across the grates and put the sheet pan in the oven, directly under and as close to the broiler as possible. Cook for a few minutes, checking often, then turning the skewers just when the chicken starts to show black char marks. Once flipped over, cook for a few more minutes, again looking for the char marks.

At this point, the chicken should be done, but if you’re concerned it’s not, check the internal temperature of the largest chunk of chicken with an instant-read thermometer. It should read at least 165 degrees F.

If you’re cooking on a grill, get the grill good and hot before oiling the grates and adding the chicken. Like for broiling, let the chicken cook for a few minutes, until it shows char marks. Flip the skewers over and cook equally as long before removing from the grill.

Serve hot with lemon or lime wedges.