Pictured here: uncooked shrimp are defrosted and tossed lightly with ground turmeric. Having a bag of good quality uncooked shrimp in your freezer will enable you to make a great shrimp curry on the fly — to defrost, place frozen shrimp into a large bowl filled with cold water for about 40 minutes, then drain and gently pat dry

Dear Big Apple Curry,

A couple of questions about your Shrimp Curry recipe!

First, I’m assuming the shrimp is not frozen when combined with turmeric and oil? You mention having frozen shrimp early on and have a pic of it in the bowl frozen so just wanted to make sure…

Second, I think it is just a typo, you say “transfer the remaining tumeric oil to a small glass bowl and set aside (after frying shrimp), it should be 1/2 a cup”, I think this should actually be 2 tablespoons, right?

Thanks for all the answers!

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Dear Reader!

First, I LOVE the questions, and created Big Apple Curry to help folks better understand the intricacies of Indian cooking, so never hold back in asking! Second, here are some answers — let me know if you need anything else:

1. Using frozen shrimp. The recipe calls for fresh shrimp; some people buy fresh shrimp the same day they’re making a shrimp dish, but some of us use frozen shrimp (cheaper too), hence I say that having frozen shrimp in your freezer can work too. I defrost it by putting the frozen shrimp in a large bowl of cold water for 40-60 min and then draining it (doesn’t take that long). This usually does the trick.

2. Shrimp with turmeric. Nope, it’s not a typo, you should get 1/2 cup of turmeric oil. Here’s why: after you sauté the shrimp with turmeric and oil, you remove the cooked shrimp with a slotted spoon to a separate dish and set aside (you will add it back in later at the end). What remains in your skillet (turmeric oil) is usually 1/2 cup because the residual water from the shrimp combines with the oil during the cooking process. Hence, it’s a quantity larger than 2 tablespoons.

This shrimp curry has a very delicate flavor profile and pairs well with basmati rice with peas. If you/your guests are looking for something that has that stronger Indian restaurant flavor this might seem tame, but I find it quite elegant.