Karin's Week Eight Recipe: Shrimp Curry

One of the items that is a staple in my household pantry/freezer/fridge, is frozen raw shrimp. They are fairly inexpensive, and a tasty alternative to poultry and beef. They also can be thawed out in 20 min in a bowl of cold water, which is an additional plus in my book.

This recipe came from a cookbook called Six Spices: A simple concept of Indian cooking. The author is a local one, originally from India, and most of the recipes are fairly easy to understand and to make. She also does a nice job of explaining how to make the little additions that give Indian cooking such great flavors.

Shrimp Curry

2 T lemon juice
1 tsp salt, divided
1 lb large shrimp (about 12-15), peeled and deveined (I just used the shrimp I had, regardless of size)
4 T cooking oil, divided (In my house, this is olive oil)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tsp ginger, finely chopped (I used powdered ginger, about a tsp or so)
2 tsp garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder (I used Penzey's Medium Chili Powder)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 1/2 c coconut milk (I used a 15oz can of coconut milk, as this was close enough)
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped (I used 1 T of Penzey's dried cilantro)

(I also added 2 tsp of Penzey's Sweet Curry powder, mostly because I had it and it smelled good. I also figured that since I was using a bit more coconut milk than called for, a little extra spice wasn't a bad thing.)

Mix lemon juice and 1/2 tsp of salt in a bowl. Place shrimp in the bowl, toss and marinate for 30 minutes. (You can get everything else ready to go while this is marinating, including measuring your rice into the rice cooker.)

Heat 2 T of oil in a nonstick frying pan. Drain shrimp and reserve the marinade. Place shrimp in the hot oil; cover the pan and cook a few seconds, turning the shrimp and cooking until they are firm and pink. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.

Pour the remaining oil into the pan and heat on med heat. Add onions, ginger, and garlic. Fry for 1-2 min, stirring continuously until onions are soft. Add the spices and marinade into the pan, and mix well. Add shrimp and remainder of the salt to the masala. Turn shrimp frequently to coat with the spices. Pour the coconut milk over the shrimp and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer the curry for another 5 minutes. Add the cilantro into the curry and serve hot over boiled rice. (I also added some frozen peas in with the coconut milk, as this curry had no veg in it, and I wanted a complete meal in a bowl. Once the peas were thawed and hot, the curry was done.)

This was a fairly easy and very tasty recipe. My live-in taste tester said that it wasn't as spicy as it smelled, but had a warming effect. This is another good winter recipe, and fit into my quick and easy lunch requirements, as the rice was done at the same time the curry was. I will probably make this again, and am now looking for other good recipes to try from this cookbook, so you may see some more Indian recipes popping up throughout the year.