I was thinking of updating some of the old posts with new pictures for quite some time. Last week when I prepared shrimp curry, I thought why not re-post the recipe again? Usually when I cook, I play around with the ingredients and add or omit ingredients depending on my mood. I usually prefer sautéing onion & tomatoes and then grind it to a fine paste for the curry. I usually make this paste in bulk and store it in the fridge or freeze and this paste is very handy when preparing dry & gravy curries. It is a great base for curries. When I posted shrimp curry in my earlier days of blogging, I used this onion paste. Last week U was not going to eat at home and I wanted to wrap up cooking as soon as possible. I did not have the paste handy and used chopped onions & tomatoes instead. No matter how I cook the curry, the ingredients that go into the curry are the same; onion, tomato and/or yogurt.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Preparing Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. peeled & deveined Shrimp (I bought frozen deveined & tail on shrimp 40/50 count)
• 4 tbsp. Oil
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 2 Cardamoms
• 1 Clove
• ½ tsp. Shah Jeera / Caraway Seeds
• 1 large Onion chopped or 1 ¼ cup chopped Onion
• 1 – 1 ½ tbsp. Ginger Garlic Paste
• 4-5 Curry Leaves torn into 2 (My leaves were big)
• ¼ tsp. Fenugreek Powder (opt.)
• 1 tbsp. Coriander Powder
• 2- 3 tsp. Chili Powder (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
• ½ tsp. Turmeric Powder
• ½ tsp. (approx.) Garam Masala or 2 Cardamoms + 1 Clove + 1/8” Cinnamon ground to powder
• 1 large Vine Ripe Tomato chopped or ¾ cup chopped Tomato

Preparation:

• Clean the shrimp; peel, devein and remove the tail from the shrimp. Wash the shrimp, squeeze to remove as much water as possible and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan; add bay leaves, cardamom, cloves caraway seeds and let them roast for few seconds.
• Add onions, curry leaves and sauté onion until translucent and light golden brown.
• Add ginger garlic paste sauté until the raw smell is gone.
• Add coriander powder, chili powder, salt, turmeric garam masala and sauté for few seconds.
• Add tomatoes, cover and cook until tomatoes are soft and mushy. Cook until oil starts to separate from the curry
• Add shrimp and mix well until the spices coat the shrimp. Cover and cook for 2 minutes or until shrimp curl up. Remove the cover and continue to cook the shrimp on medium – medium high flame until all the juices & liquid in the pan evaporate and the curry is cooked.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with roti or rice.

Suggestions/Variations:

• For a green chili flavor add some jalapeno peppers or medium to long green chilies (the ones used for mirchi bajjis) to shrimp after after cooking the shrimp for few minutes with cover on. If adding green chilies or jalapeno peppers, adjust chili powder accordingly.
• Tomatoes can be substitutes with some yogurt. If using yogurt, reduce the flame to low, add yogurt instead of tomatoes and mix immediately. Increase the flame and cook until oil separates from the masala / mixture and shrimp.
• Cooking time varies depending on the size of the shrimp.

Recipes I posted this month in 2008, in 2009, in 2010 & in 2011
Event Entries: This goes to my own event Seafood Feast.