Kadugu Yerra from Pondicherry

The union territory of Puducherry consists of four small unconnected districts: Pondicherry, Karaikal and Yanam on the Bay of Bengal and Mahé on the Arabian Sea. Pondicherry and Karaikal have the largest areas and population, both as part of Tamil Nadu. Yanam and Mahé are enclaves of Andhra and Kerala respectively.

The union territory of Puducherry was a French colony for around 200 years, making French a strong influence on the area. Tamil cuisine is followed by majority of the people as its major population being Tamil. The influence of the neighboring areas such as Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala is also visible on the territory's cuisine. Some favorite dishes include coconut curry, tandoori potato, soya dosa, podanlangkai, curried vegetables, stuffed cabbage, and baked beans.
(Source: Wiki; copy & pasted)

Today's recipe is simple gravy prepared with coconut milk and mustard paste. Shrimp is cooked with potatoes, tomatoes and coconut milk with mustard and fenugreek paste. It had a thick rich texture like the french sauces. Kadugu means mustard in Tamil and Yerra is shrimp/prawn.

Source: The Hindu
Total Time: 30 - 35 minutes
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 – 25 minutes
Serves: 1 - 2

Ingredients:

½ lb. peeled Shrimp
2-3 tsp. Oil
1 small Onion chopped or ½ cup chopped Onion
2 - 3 Curry Leaves
3 Garlic Cloves
¾ tsp. Cumin Seeds
1 ½ tsp. Chili Powder (adjust to taste)
Turmeric (opt. This was not in the recipe but I added for color)
½ large Tomato or ⅓ cup chopped Tomato
½ small Potato or 50 – 55 grams Potato or ⅓ (approx.) cup diced Potatoes
¾ tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
⅓ - ½ cup Coconut Milk (I used canned coconut milk)
1 ½ tbsp. Coconut Cream (the top layer of coconut milk. Check notes)
⅓ tsp. Mustard seeds, powdered
⅓ tsp. Fenugreek Seeds, powdered
½ tbsp. Malt Vinegar

Preparation:

Peel shrimp the shrimp, if it is not already peeled. Remove the tails and wash it. My shrimp was a little smelly, so I washed it with turmeric salt and yogurt. Wash several times and keep it aside.
Wash and peel the potato. Cut it into 1” cubes. Cut ½ the potato into 12 pieces. Peel and cut the onions. Chop tomatoes and keep aside.
Grind or crush garlic with cumin.
Grind together mustard and fenugreek seeds to a powder. Mix the powder with coconut cream and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan and sauté onions until light brown. This will take 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the onions.
Add curry leaves, garlic cumin paste, chili powder and fry for a minute or two.
Add tomatoes, mix, and cover and cook until tomatoes are soft. Cook on medium – medium high flame and tomatoes will soften in couple of minutes.
Add potatoes and cook for another couple of minutes.
Add shrimp, salt and fry for another couple of minutes.
Add coconut milk, cover and cook on medium flame until potatoes are cooked. Stir in between and it should take about 5-7 minutes. By now shrimp will curl up and potatoes should be almost cooked.
Add coconut cream, mustard fenugreek paste and mix well. Add 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) of water and bring it to a boil and boil it for 2-4 minutes.
Add vinegar; continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes until vinegar smell if gone. Make sure the potatoes are cooked and turn off the heat.
Serve hot with rice.