🇹🇿 Tanzanian / Swahili · Fish & Seafood
🦐 Tanzanian Prawn Pilau
Pilau ya Kamba
Tanzanian Prawn Pilau — basmati rice cooked in a rich prawn and coconut stock with Zanzibar spices, crowned with butter-sautéed prawns. The luxury seafood pilau of Zanzibar — the dish that celebrates the Indian Ocean's greatest gift.
Prawn pilau is Zanzibar's most luxurious rice dish — the prawn shells make an intensely flavoured stock that cooks the rice, and the best prawns are saved for the final sauté and crowning of the dish.
Ingredients
Equipment: Pot for stock, Large sufuria, Spice grinder
- 600g large prawns — peeled, shells reserved
- 3 cups basmati rice — soaked
- 2 onions — sliced
- 4 tomatoes — diced
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 200ml coconut milk
- 2 tsp salt
- ¼ cup coriander
Prawn Shell Stock: reserved shells, 4 cups water, 1 onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp salt
Zanzibar Spices: 2 tsp cumin seeds, 6 cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 6 cloves
Method
- Make prawn stock: simmer shells with water, onion, garlic, salt 20 minutes. Strain. Measure 5 cups.
- Toast spices. Grind half. Keep half whole.
- Cook onions until golden. Add garlic, ginger, spices, tomatoes. Cook 8 minutes.
- Add coconut milk and prawn stock. Bring to boil.
- Add drained rice. Stir. Reduce heat. Cover tightly. Cook 18 minutes.
- Rest 8 minutes.
- Sauté prawns in butter with garlic and salt — 3—4 minutes.
- Crown pilau with sautéed prawns. Garnish with coriander.
Chef Tips
- Prawn shell stock is the foundation — do not skip.
- Prawn shells contain intense glutamate flavour.
- Add prawns at the end — they cook in minutes.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Discarding prawn shells.
- Adding raw prawns to the rice.
The Science
Prawn shells contain chitin-bound glutamate — amino acids that produce intense umami when extracted in hot water, giving the rice incomparable depth.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- High lean protein.
- Omega-3 from prawns.
- Complete meal.
Cultural Note
Prawn pilau is Zanzibar's most luxurious expression of the pilau tradition — taking the Indian Ocean's finest protein and the island's finest spices in the great rice dish of East Africa.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Best eaten immediately.
Reheating: Covered with splash of water.
Serve with: Kachumbari, Coconut Chutney, Raita