Prawn Curry Recipe for Toddlers, Adults, everyone!

Oh I'm feeling a bit wrung out.  My son was happily falling asleep after a fantastic lunch, almost gone and what happens?  A blooming sales call and worst of all, they did the whole silent treatment so I didn't even get the joy of telling them how annoyed I am and how we're on the TPS and shouldn't be getting these calls...!

So then, nap is screwed.  Pumpkin is stood up in his cot saying "phone!" and when I don't give him the phone it leads to 10 minutes of screaming finally Mummy gives in and cuddles him to sleep.
He's still asleep now nearly 50 mins later but it doesn't stop me feeling like a bad Mum.  You know all those books which tell you you shouldn't let them fall asleep in your arms?  Well now I've obviously ruined him for life.  Seriously though, being a mummy involves so much (often self induced) criticism.  It's exhausting.

Anyway, he's eating well!  Yo big myself up on something!!!

Sometimes you have to take a leap into the unknown and not play it safe.  This is a curry which even I as someone who generally likes it hot found tasty.  Pumpkin wolfed it down!  He even nicked an extra mushroom out of my bowl!  Now that's a ringing endorsement!

I know advice varies from country to country and even within the UK on potentially allergenic foods and this contains plenty.  My son has eczema and so until recently I had avoided many of them but after talking to my health visitor, I'm now being a bit more bold.  If you're worried, talk to a health care professional about the latest advice and how it fits in with your family.  If you're concerned particularly about the nuts, miss them out.  If the prawns worry you, make it a mushroom curry.

No claims to authenticity here but it's probably along the lines of a south Indian dish with the ingredients.

Prawn and Mushroom Curry (or Mushroom curry) - serves 1 adult and 1 toddler

Ingredients

Pinch of mustard seeds
A small knob of unsalted butter or vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 tsp mild curry paste - I used pataks mild curry paste which is mild without being flavourless
Pinch of powdered dried coriander (cilantro)
Half a tin of coconut milk
3 mushrooms cut into sixths or eighths (use more if you only have very small mushrooms)
2 tsp ground almonds (optional)
12 large peeled, cooked prawns (defrosted if frozen) or more if you want to use smaller prawns
A few leaves of fresh coriander (cilantro)
A squeeze of lime

Method

Heat the oil or butter in a pan and add the mustard seeds.  Warm until they start to pop.  Take off the heat and add the tomato, garlic, curry paste and powdered coriander.  Heat through for 1-2 minutes until the coriander is combined.  Add the coconut milk and almonds if using and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Add in the mushrooms and bring to the boil.  Simmer for around 4 minutes then add in the prawns and simmer until the mushrooms are fully cooked and the prawns heated through.  Add the lime and leaf coriander and serve with freshly cooked basmati rice.

If your child is younger, you may want to tone down the quantity of curry paste and either cut up the prawns or use smaller prawns.  As ever, you know your child best and what foods they might like and can cope with texturally.  As ever don't leave your child to eat alone!