Hi Percy,
I am from India, from a state similar to Kerala but more than a thousand miles distant. Otherwise I would have gladly given you detailed recipes for the recipes from my region that also include a lot of seafood. At the risk of arousing your ire, I would like to refer you to two sites:
http://www.anothersubcontinent.com/forums/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=10 http://www.gourmetindia.net/forums/ These are places where Indians discuss their own regional cuisines. Many are true experts and love to help others learn about their cooking. The question you ask is not simply answered because there is no one answer. There is NO standard "Malabar prawn curry". First, one has to understand that there are various endgamous communities on the Malabar coast, like the Syrian Christians or the Muslims, each with distinct ways of cooking the same foods. Then, something widely available and popular, like shrimp is prepared in numerous ways, each of which has a distinct name,lumped into the catch-all "curry" in America for English-speaking friends, as a matter of mutual convenience. Would "Theeyal" or "Ularthiyathu" or 'thoran" make any more sense under the circumstance of a guest invited for dinner?
There are many sites and blogs for Kerala recipes, as you may have discovered, many of them difficult to decipher in terms of language as well as the actual cooking insructions. For instance, curry leaves, Kodampuli [a type of our fruit, a species of Garcinia different from another Gacinia sold as kokum in Indian groceries. Both are souring agents but the kodampuli is what gives Kerala fish dishes their characteritic flavor] and various thicknesses of coconut milk are called for. If you have any problems I shall be happy to answer your questions and interpret the recipe directions for you.
Don't get discouraged. We can break down the seemingly intractable recipes into small steps and they will come out fine. Friends' mothers however have had years of practice, and they bring to the US fresh POUNDED spices fom India of a quality not available here. So there is that caveat.
http://pachakam.com/recipe.asp?id=607 http://pachakam.com/recipe.asp?id=641 http://pachakam.com/recipe.asp?id=1213
