When you need a flavorful and quick option for the grill, here’s your answer. Butterflied tiger prawns hang out in a garlic-forward yogurt marinade before getting grilled until bright orange with crispy charred edges. Seeking out large head-on prawns is well worth it, as chef Chintan Pandya recommends savoring the heads and tails for their intense smokiness and crunch. If you can only get cleaned shrimp, that’s okay too—skip the butterflying and grill them on skewers instead so they don’t fall through the grate.
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What you’ll need
Scissors
$17.95 At Amazon
Stainless Steel Skewers
$7 At Amazon
Citrus Juicer
$20 $15 At Amazon
Microplane Grater
$18 At Amazon
Paring Knife
$10 At Amazon
Ingredients
4 servings
16
8
1
5
1½
1
2
2
1
1
1
Preparation
Step 1
If using 16 head-on tiger prawns, working 1 prawn at a time, snip off antennae and legs with kitchen shears, then cut through shells along length of backs just deep enough into flesh to expose veins; remove veins and discard. Run a paring knife along backs of prawns, cutting most of the way through, and open up flesh like a book.
Step 2
Mix grated 3 garlic cloves, finely grated, one 2" piece ginger, peeled, finely grated, and 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice in a medium bowl; season with kosher salt. Add prawns (or 16 deveined peeled extra-jumbo shrimp) and toss gently to coat. Cover and chill at least 20 minutes and up to 4 hours.
Step 3
Mix 1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt, 2 Tbsp. cream cheese, room temperature, 2 tsp. Kashmiri chile powder or paprika, 1 tsp. ajwain seeds or caraway seeds, 1 tsp. garam masala, 1 tsp. ground turmeric, 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, and remaining 4 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice in another medium bowl to combine.
Step 4
Remove prawns from lemon juice marinade; discard. Transfer to yogurt marinade; toss to coat. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Step 5
Prepare a grill for medium heat; oil grate. Arrange prawns, butterflied side up, on grate and grill, undisturbed, basting often with melted unsalted butter, until flesh is opaque throughout and shells are bright orange, about 5 minutes. (For shrimp, thread onto skewers and grill, turning once and basting often on both sides, until opaque, about 5 minutes.)
Step 6
Divide prawns among plates or transfer to a platter; top with cilantro leaves and store-bought fried garlic (if using). Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.