Kamba (Swahili Spiced Prawns with Peppers)

• 1 kg whole raw prawns, shell on (kamba)
• ½ cup diced mixed capsicum (red, green and yellow)
• a few curry leaves (optional)
• about 3 cloves garlic, for 1 tbsp fresh garlic-ginger paste
• a 2 cm piece fresh ginger, for the garlic-ginger paste
• 1 tsp curry powder
• ½ tbsp ground cumin
• ½ tbsp ground black pepper
• salt, to taste
• 3–4 tbsp olive oil
• chopped hot chilli (optional)
• Lemon juice: juice of 1 lemon or lime

Method

The cook speaks Swahili; every step is written here in English. Tap a time to watch that step in the video. For subtitles, tap CC in the video, then Settings › Subtitles › Auto-translate › English.

1. Clean the whole raw prawns (head and shell on) and drain them well. 0:30
2. Put the prawns in a wide pan and add everything except the oil, chilli and lemon: the capsicum, curry leaves, garlic-ginger paste, curry powder, cumin, black pepper and salt. Mix well. 1:14
3. Cover and cook over medium heat without any water for 5 minutes — the prawns release their own juices. 1:32
4. Uncover, stir and cook for another 7–10 minutes, until the liquid has dried up. 1:40
5. Once the pan is dry, add the olive oil (and the chilli if using) and fry, stirring, until the prawns are coated and lightly browned. 1:58
6. Squeeze in the lemon or lime juice, leave on the heat for 1–2 minutes more and serve. 2:24

Tip. Serves 4 (our estimate). Peel the prawns at the table. Good with a tomato and onion kachumbari salad; in East Africa it is also eaten with rice, chapati or ugali.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.