Hairy Bikers prawn korma is a creamy, mild curry with tiger prawns in a blitzed onion and ginger sauce, finished with a splash of cream. It serves 4 at just 205 calories per serving and takes under 30 minutes from start to finish.
This comes from The Hairy Dieters: Eat for Life (2013), and Si and Dave say it will “satisfy your takeaway yearnings.” The calorie saving comes from using water instead of coconut milk and just 2 tablespoons of cream for the whole dish. A takeaway korma runs 400–600 calories, so this is less than half.
The stick blender step is what makes the sauce silky. Si and Dave cook the onions with the lid on for 10 minutes, simmer them in water, then blitz everything smooth. The blended onions become the body of the sauce without needing any coconut cream.
Hairy Bikers Prawn Korma
Course: Hairy BikersCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes25
minutes205
kcal35
minutesA diet-friendly takeaway alternative from The Hairy Dieters: Eat for Life (2013). The sauce is built from softened onions, garlic and ginger blitzed smooth with a stick blender, with just 2 tablespoons of cream stirred in. Tiger prawns cook in the sauce for 3–4 minutes at the end.
Ingredients
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
20g fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 tbsp korma curry paste
500ml cold water
2 tbsp double or single cream
2 tsp caster sugar
400g peeled raw tiger prawns, thawed if frozen
20g fresh coriander, leaves roughly chopped
flaked sea salt
Directions
- Cook the base: Heat the oil in a non-stick saucepan and stir in the onions, garlic and ginger. Cover and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes until pale golden, stirring occasionally.
- Build the sauce: Remove the lid and stir in the curry paste. Cook for a minute, then add the water and bring to the boil. Simmer uncovered for 8–10 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half and the onions are very soft.
- Blitz smooth: Remove from the heat and blitz to a smooth sauce with a stick blender. Stir in the cream and sugar, season with salt and return to the heat.
- Cook the prawns: Add the prawns, bring to a simmer and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until they’re completely pink and beginning to curl.
- Serve: Sprinkle with coriander, stir well and serve immediately with a small portion of rice.
FAQs
How does this stay creamy with only 2 tablespoons of cream?
The creaminess comes from the blended onions, not the dairy. Two medium onions cooked with the lid on for 10 minutes go completely soft. Once blitzed, they create a thick sauce that feels rich on the tongue.
The cream is stirred in after blitzing and adds a glossy finish, but it’s the onion purée doing the heavy work. A takeaway korma uses 200ml or more of coconut cream to achieve the same texture, which is why the calorie difference is so dramatic.
Why cook the onions with the lid on?
The lid traps steam, which softens the onions more quickly and evenly without needing extra oil. Si and Dave cook them for a full 10 minutes this way, which is longer than most curry recipes allow.
Properly softened onions blitz to a smoother sauce. If you skip the lid or cut the time short, you’ll get a grainy texture instead of a silky one. The Hairy Bikers chicken and spinach curry uses a food processor for its base instead, but the principle of getting the onions very soft first is the same.
Can I use cooked prawns instead of raw?
You can, but they only need 1–2 minutes in the sauce to warm through. Raw tiger prawns give a better texture because they cook gently in the sauce and absorb some of the korma flavour as they go.
Cooked prawns are already firm, so they won’t absorb as much korma flavour from the sauce. If using frozen cooked prawns, defrost them fully and pat dry before adding. Stir them in right at the end and warm through gently so they don’t go rubbery and tough.
What korma paste should I buy?
Si and Dave don’t specify a brand, just “korma curry paste.” Most supermarket own-brand versions work well. Patak’s is widely available and reliable. Three tablespoons gives a mild, fragrant sauce.
If you want to make your own paste, blend ground almonds, coconut, cumin, coriander, cardamom and a little chilli with yoghurt. But the jarred paste is what keeps this recipe under 30 minutes, which is the whole point of a midweek takeaway alternative that actually delivers on convenience.
Can I make this ahead?
Cook the sauce up to the blitzing stage and refrigerate for up to 2 days in a sealed container. When ready to eat, reheat the sauce gently, stir in the cream and sugar, then add the prawns fresh and cook for 3–4 minutes. The whole finishing step takes under 5 minutes, which makes this ideal for batch prep.
Don’t reheat cooked prawns more than once, since they toughen quickly. If you’ve frozen leftover sauce, defrost overnight and bring it to a simmer before adding the prawns. The Hairy Bikers chicken jalfrezi freezes better as a complete dish since chicken handles reheating more forgivingly than prawns.
What should I serve with this?
Si and Dave say “a small portion of rice,” and they mean small. The sauce is rich enough that a mound of plain basmati goes a long way. A tablespoon of rice per person keeps the total meal under 300 calories.
Warm naan would be traditional but adds about 250 calories per piece. A plain chapati or cucumber raita on the side adds freshness without many extra calories.
