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    Home » Recipes » Non Vegetarian

    Published: Apr 21, 2016 · Modified: Oct 1, 2020 by Usha Rao

    Royyala Koora ~ Rustic Shrimp Curry without Tomato

    In this A-Z challenge, Journey Through Telangana Cuisine, for R, I have royyala koora (prawn curry). I already have three versions of royyala koora on the blog; shrimp curry with onion paste, shrimp curry without onion paste and shrimp curry without tomatoes, and one might ask what is so special about this one? Last summer when cousin S visited me, I wrote down couple of recipes that she cooked for us, apart from coriander mint chutney I already posted. Today's koora is her ammamma's (grandmother) recipe. This recipe has no tomatoes, calls for poppy seeds which I hardly ever use in my cooking and last but not the least, royyalu are pre-cooked before adding to the curry. With so many variations, this recipe needs a separate post in itself.

    Royyala Koora or Shrimp Curry in a low height bowl and from a top down angle

    Growing up, I never use to like prawns until I was 18-19 years old. One reason for the dislike was the smell of the prawns. When I was a little girl, I was turned off by the smell. And later, I never tried to taste it though we get good prawns in Hyderabad. One of my aunts lived near the river banks and sometimes would send fresh Ganga royyalu to cousin S, whenever someone came to Hyderabad. During on such deliveries, I happened to be at cousin’s place and her grandmom cooked this delicious koora. Just the aroma was enough to shove my prawn aversion and give it a try. Since then royyalu/prawns/shrimp have become one of my favorite foods.

    Royyala Koora or shrimp curry in a bowl along with chicken curry rice in separate bowls

    By the way, when I said Ganga royyalu, the prawns were not from the the Ganges. River Godavari flows through Telangana and is called dakshina (southern) Ganga. It is considered almost as sacred as the river Ganges. When someone passes away, some of the ashes & bones of that person are first immersed in river Godavari and at a later point, rest are immersed in the Ganges. Some of them immerse all of the ashes in Godavari itself. In fact, some people call it Ganga. When I first heard one can make a day trip to Ganga, I was confused and wondered how that is possible. On further probe, I realized it is River Godavari and not River Ganga in the North. The prawns from river Godavari are called Ganga royyalu by the locals.

    Here are the vegetables, fruits and dishes starting with ‘R’.
    Grains:
    Ragulu
    Rava - This can be godhuma rava / Cream of Wheat, Bombay Rava / Sooji
    Fruit:
    Regi Pandulu
    Dishes:
    Ragi Java or Raagula java
    Rava Laddu
    Regi pandla pachadi (pickle)
    Royyala pachadi (pickle)

    Bowl of Shrimp Curry prepared without Tomatoes in the forefront and side dishes in the background

    Serves: 2

    Ingredients:
    Cooking Shrimp

    • 1 lb. Shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used 16 - 20 count shrimp)
    • 2 tablespoon Oil
    • 1 tsp. Chili Powder
    • ¾ tsp. Salt

    Shrimp Koora

    • 3 tbsp. Oil
    • ¼ tsp. Shah Jeera (I didn’t use)
    • ⅔ cup firmly packed chopped Menthi ~ Fenugreek Leaves (opt)
    • ¾ - 1 cup onion chopped (little less than 1 cup) ( it was too much oorpu)
    • 4 Green Chilies, split it into two
    • 1 ½ tbsp. Ginger Garlic Paste
    • 1 ½ tsp. Chili Powder (adjust to taste)
    • ¼ tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
    • 2 tbsp. Coconut Flakes or Copra
    • ½ tbsp. Poppy Seeds
    • ⅛ - ¼ tsp. Cardamom Seeds (I used ¼ )
    • 1-2 Cloves (I used 2)
    • ¼” Cinnamon
    • ¼ cup, about 3 ½ tbsp. Yogurt
    • 2 - 3 tsp. Kothimeerla Podi ~ Dhaniya Powder ~ Coriander Powder
    • Kothimeera ~ Cilantro Leaves for garnish

    Preparation:
    Cooking Shrimp

    • Peel, devein shrimp and squeeze as much water as possible.
    • Take a pan or a saucepan and heat 2 tablespoon of oil listed under cooking shrimp. When oil is hot, add shrimp and saute until shrimp begins to curl up. Add chili powder and salt listed under cooking shrimp. Stir and cook until shrimp is cooked and becomes almost dry. Shrimp we get in the US cooks very fast. It will take less than 10 minutes for this step.

    Curry

    • Grind together poppy seeds, coconut flakes, cloves, cardamom seeds and cinnamon. Keep aside until needed.
    • While the shrimp is cooking, take another wide pan and heat oil.
    • Add shahjeera if using. Then add menthi leaves and saute until leaves wither and are roasted in oil.
    • Add green chilies and saute for few seconds until chilies change color.
    • Add onions, saute until soft and light yellowish brown.
    • Add ginger garlic and saute until raw smell is gone.
    • Add coconut poppy seeds powder, coriander powder, chili powder, salt, turmeric and stir until powders are lightly roasted in oil.
    • Reduce the flame to low. Add beaten yogurt and stir immediately. Cook on low flame until yogurt is blended into onion mixture. Increase the flame and cook until oil separates from the sides and the masala (yogurt onion mixture) is brown.
    • Add cooked shrimp and continue sauteing on medium high flame until masala coats shrimp.
    • Reduce the flame to medium - medium low and cook until the koora is done.
    • Sprinkle some chopped kothimeera, stir and turn of the fire.
    • Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with remaining chopped kothimeera and serve with rice.

    Note:

    • Spices - I used ¼ tsp. cardamom seeds and 2 cloves. The curry was spicy but we really enjoyed it, getting a kick out of it. Use these spices to your tolerance level.
    • Oil - was a bit too much but I did not mind it. Oil was too much but it was not floating. If you feel it is too much, use less oil when pre-cooking the shrimp .

    This day in:
    2009 - Black & Yellow Chickpeas in Sweet & Sour Spicy Sauce
    2010 - Egg Roll
    2012 - Fattoush
    2014 - Aloo Potala Rasa ~ Pointed Gourd Curry from Orissa
    2015 - Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

    « Qimah Vundalu ~ Meat Balls
    Sakinalu, Telangana Snack »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mireille Roc (@ChefMireille) says

      May 12, 2016 at 7:19 pm

      with coconut and poppy a very unique shrimp curry indeed - definitely on my list to try

      Reply
    2. Nalini says

      May 07, 2016 at 11:59 am

      Such a rustic and delicious looking royyalu koora..

      Reply
    3. sapana behl says

      May 04, 2016 at 10:52 pm

      Spicy and flavorful looking curry.

      Reply
    4. Smruti | Herbivore Cucina says

      April 27, 2016 at 8:26 pm

      I am totally in love with these pictures!! Such a wonderful setup and such a great recipe 🙂

      Reply
    5. Pavani says

      April 25, 2016 at 10:14 pm

      Royyala kura looks spicy and flavorful.

      Reply
    6. Vaishali Sabnani says

      April 24, 2016 at 11:34 pm

      Interesting to read about the Ganga:))..and Usha the pics look awesome.These shrimps must be a true delicacy for those who eat.

      Reply
    7. Gayathri Kumar says

      April 23, 2016 at 12:03 am

      Awesome snaps Usha. Very beautifully presented..

      Reply
    8. Amara says

      April 22, 2016 at 2:43 pm

      You are making me hungry Usha, curry looks mouthwatering and love your presentation:)

      Reply
    9. Priya Suresh says

      April 22, 2016 at 5:23 am

      You are killing me with those shrimps, curry looks ultimate and simply fallen in love with it.

      Reply
    10. Srivalli says

      April 22, 2016 at 4:20 am

      Love you setup Usha..so nicely plated...and a good read on ganga!

      Reply
    11. srividhya says

      April 21, 2016 at 1:36 pm

      Great recipe for sea food lovers. Between, you know what.. These days I visit you blog with an anticipation especially your servewares man.. love it. Love the arrangement. My BFF has gone to Indian for vacation. I sent that clay ware picture of urs. Lets see if she can find it. fingers crossed.

      Reply
      • MySpicyKitchen says

        April 22, 2016 at 5:38 am

        Thanks Vidhya and lets keep fingers crossed that your BFF finds similar clay ware. It is actually ceramic though it looks like clay.

        Reply

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    Hi, I am Usha! Welcome to my space. I am the content creator and photographer here. I love cooking and all the recipes on the site are tried and tested in my kitchen.

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