Tender shrimp poached with turmeric, paprika, onions, garlic, yogurt, and a touch of cream makes for an elegant dish with refined, subtle flavors

Indian Cooking 201 – In this lesson you will build on your knowledge of how to make a basic Indian curry by learning how to make an elegant shrimp curry

Objectives:

• Really  build your curry expertise by learning how to make an elegant shrimp curry — your friends and family will be impressed! 

• As with all 201 level recipes, you will learn how to make authentic Indian dishes using mostly ground spices that you can find at your local supermarket (no need to go to an Indian grocer quite yet)

• You will continue to master my 5-10-5 Rule — a cheat sheet I created for my husband Sean of the basic things you need in your pantry to make a variety of delicious Indian dishes

A handy addition to any recipe box is an elegant entree. In this recipe you will learn how to dust shrimp (prawns) with turmeric and gently poached them with spices, onions, garlic, yogurt, and a touch of cream. With this dish on your dining table, you can’t go wrong. What I love about this dish is the following: i) it’s easy to keep most of the ingredients on hand (like me, you might always keep a bag of frozen peeled & deveined shrimp in your freezer) ii) it doesn’t take long to make and iii) the end result is a silky, fragrant curry with plump shrimp laced with ground spices that might taste a bit mild at first, but the more you (and your guests) eat it, the more you will uncover the layers of flavor. As I often say, not all Indian food has to be overpowering, overly spicy, or burn your mouth. To the contrary, Indian food, if prepared correctly and served alongside the right dishes, can be an elegant culinary affair. Another thing: this is a great curry if you need to cook for someone who doesn’t like OR is allergic to tomatoes. As you’ve probably noticed by now, many Indian curries call for fresh tomatoes or tomato paste or are tomato-based curries. This is also a great curry because it doesn’t call for coconut milk. As such, it’s one of those rare curries that has neither tomatoes nor coconut milk, so I love to have it in my Indian cooking arsenal so I can pull it out any time I need to.

Shrimp Curry (adapted)

Ingredients

For the shrimp

• 2 pounds large-to-medium shrimp, deveined and shells & tails removed
• 2 tablespoons turmeric
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

For the curry

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1.5 teaspoons cumin powder
• 2.5 teaspoons coriander powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1.5 cups water
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1. 5 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne powder OR red chilli powder
• 1/3 cup cream
• Fresh cilantro, finely chopped (for garnish)

Preparation

1. In a large mixing bowl, sprinkle shrimp generously with turmeric and mix well to coat. Heat canola oil in a wide non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Add shrimp and fry quickly until they turn pink and then immediately remove from heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to a glass bowl and set aside. Using a large serving spoon, transfer the remaining turmeric oil into a small glass bowl and set aside (it should be about 1/2 cup).

2. In the same skillet add canola oil (1/2 cup) and heat on medium.  Add the onions until they are golden and glassy; add garlic and cook for another minute, then reduce heat and follow with cumin, coriander, and paprika. Add reserved turmeric oil and 1.5 cups of water and increase heat, bringing it to a boil. Simmer uncovered on low heat until the sauce reduces to a thick pulpy gravy (about 10-12 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add yogurt, salt, cayenne, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add shrimp and mix well.

3. Reduce heat and gently simmer, covered, for a couple of minutes until the shrimp are heated through. Add freshly chopped cilantro.  Turn off the heat and stir in the cream.

*The original recipe says to let the dish sit for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve, gently simmer  until heated through — I don’t typically do this because we eat it right away. However, if you’re preparing this for guests or a party and decide to do this, because the shrimp are already cooked, when you let it sit for 1 hour make sure you i) leave it far away from heat and uncovered and ii) once you start gently simmering it until it’s heated through, keep careful watch so the shrimp don’t overcook. This happened to me once in the middle of a dinner party in Washington D.C. — I completely forgot the shrimp was simmering and it overcooked, ending up like a pile of unrecognizable mush and I wasn’t able to serve it!

Gently combine fresh shrimp with a generous amount of turmeric — a great way to get the antioxidant power of turmeric

In a wide non-stick skillet, saute the turmeric shrimp quickly until they just turn pink

This is how the shrimp should look, whereupon use a slotted spoon remove to a glass bowl and set aside

Using a large spoon, remove the turmeric oil left in the skillet and remove to a small bowl, set aside for now

In the same skillet, heat oil and saute onions and garlic until glassy and golden

Add cumin powder, coriander powder, and paprika

Add reserved turmeric oil and 1.5 cups of cold water

After bringing it to a boil, lower heat and simmer uncovered for 10-12 minutes until thick and pulpy like this

Add yogurt, kosher salt, and cayenne powder

Add reserved shrimp back into skillet and mix well to combine

After heating through for a couple of minutes, add finely chopped cilantro

Turn off heat and gently stir in cream

Ta da! This is how your finished shrimp curry should look

Recipe adapted from Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni