When frozen meat, fish or prepared food thaws on a counter, its outer layer reaches room temperature long before the centre softens. In a hot Indian kitchen that outer layer can spend hours in the danger zone. The safest method is planned thawing in a refrigerator, usually on the bottom shelf in a tray to catch drips, which keeps the surface cold throughout.
Other methods are acceptable when done properly: under cold running water in a sealed bag, or in a microwave immediately before cooking. Small items can sometimes be cooked straight from frozen. What should be avoided is thawing in warm water, in sunlight or on a counter overnight. Once thawed, food should not normally be refrozen raw, as quality suffers and any bacterial growth during thawing carries over.
A seafood restaurant in Mangaluru might move frozen prawns from the chest freezer to a dedicated thawing tray at the bottom of a reach-in each evening, ready for the next day's lunch. Planning thawing into the closing routine avoids last-minute counter thawing.