Indian-Style Skinny "Paella" with Prawns (Instant Pot)

A paella that looks Spanish but tastes Indian? This (very) skinny paella with prawns is fusion food at its best.

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I call this recipe a paella fully knowing it is not a real paella, so any Spanish readers please excuse my boldness. But still, it's one of the most frequent recipes I do in the pressure cooker and is a favourite in our home.

I first made this "paella" with Indian flavours back in 2012 or so, initially following Jamie Oliver's Chicken Seafood Paella recipe. But soon I became dissatisfied with the amount of time it took to make it, and I started to eliminate ingredients from it, starting with the pancetta, chorizo and then the chicken and mussels.

All that was left were the veggies and prawns, which also made the paella an excellent choice for those moments I wanted something light and low-calorie. But removing everything from that paella took a lot of the taste away, so one day I counteracted that with some Indian spices. I liked the result so much that I only do it like that now.

You can do this on the stove as well, as I used to, but since I got a pressure cooker, I couldn't be bothered to do it the old way and adapted the recipe for the pressure cooker.

What do you need to make this skinny paella with prawns?

Since I cut so many things from what regular paella should contain, the list of ingredients is not too long, but the one for spices is a mighty one.

You will need:

• Brown onions - about four small ones or two large ones
• Peppers - the color doesn't matter, but I like red and green best
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Vegetable stock
• Garden peas - I also like to make it with petit pois. Fresh peas are best if you can find them, but if not, use frozen.
• King prawns - you'll need about 400 grams of prawns for this. I have made it with all types of prawns, including the value ones from Lidl, and it was OKish, but king prawns are really delicious in this paella. You can also add some squid rings or mussels if you like.
• Paella rice - it works well with risotto rice, but use the paella specific one if possible.
• Lemon to serve - the juice of half a lemon freshly squeezed on the paella right before serving changes the game completely and I can say I never have a serving of this dish if there's no lemon in the house.

Now for the spices:

• Ground cinnamon
• Black pepper
• Turmeric
• Cardamom
• Bay leaves
• Onion powder
• Smoked paprika
• Cloves
• Fennel seed

I told you it was long. But don't worry, you will only need a bit of each.

How do you make the paella?

1. Set your pressure cooker to "Saute" and add the olive oil. When it's hot, add the chopped onions and peppers. Cook for five minutes until soft.
2. In the meantime, bring 1.25 l water to boil and add it to a bowl or jug. Add the vegetable stock and all the spices. Leave it aside.
3. In a pan, cook the prawns until there is no more liquid. You can add some salt on them if you want. Take them out of the pan and leave aside.
4. Back to the pressure cooker, add the rice and stir for a minute.
5. Add the peas and stir.
6. Add the liquid you set aside and stir.
7. Seal the pressure cooker and use the risotto setting and a quick release.
8. When it's ready, add the prawns and stir.
9. Serve immediately with lemon.

Indian-Style Skinny Paella with Prawns (Instant Pot)

A paella that looks Spanish but tastes Indian? This (very) skinny paella with prawns is fusion food at its best.

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 331kcal

Author: Alice | Skinny Spatula

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 small large onions
• ▢ 2 large red peppers
• ▢ 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 2 cubes vegetable stock
• ▢ 200 g (4 cups) garden peas, or petit pois
• ▢ 400 g (14 oz) king prawns
• ▢ 350 g (2 cups) paella rice
• ▢ 1 large lemon, to serve
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cardamom
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
• ▢ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ 2-3 cloves garlic

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Instructions

• Set your pressure cooker to "Saute" and add the olive oil. When it's hot, add the chopped onions and peppers. Cook for five minutes until soft.
  4 small large onions

  2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

  2 large red peppers
• In the meantime, bring 1.25 l water to boil and add it to a bowl or jug. Add the vegetable stock and all the spices. Leave it aside.
  2 cubes vegetable stock

  ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

  ¼ tsp black pepper

  ¼ tsp turmeric

  ¼ tsp cardamom

  ¼ tsp onion powder

  ¼ tsp fennel seeds

  1 tsp smoked paprika

  2 bay leaves

  2-3 cloves garlic
• In a pan, cook the prawns until there is no more liquid. You can add some salt on them if you want. Take them out of the pan and leave aside.
  400 g king prawns
• Back to the pressure cooker, add the rice and stir for a minute.
  350 g paella rice
• Add the peas and stir.
  200 g garden peas
• Add the vegetable stock and stir.
• Seal the pressure cooker and use the risotto setting and a quick release.
• When it's ready, add the prawns and stir.
• Serve immediately with lemon.
  1 large lemon

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 331kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 168mg | Sodium: 1057mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g

Nutrition is per serving and is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.

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