Indian Shrimp Curry

Quietly, and without fanfare or a camera, a friend of mine is cooking a gourmet dinner tonight. She will grind her spices by hand and cook 4 or 5 coordinated dishes, all with a child running circles around her legs, and she doesn't even have a blog to gush about whatever she has made. This is just good food - splendid and humble at the same time.

I have begging this friend to come to my house and show me how to make her shrimp curry. She has told me how to make it, and I have tried, but my version wasn't half as good. Sometimes you really have to see - and touch, and smell, and taste- something, in order to recreate it.

This week, she squeezed me in between work, errands, prenatal appointments, and taking care of the kiddo. She arrived with a grocery bag of spices and I provided the shrimp. She even let me hover around, making her measure what she normally would eyeball, and snapping photos while she chopped and stirred.

Indian Shrimp Curry
Serves 4 to 6

2 pounds of raw medium-sized prawns (shrimp), peeled
1/4 cup oil
1 can of coconut milk

1 small red onion
2 jalapeño peppers
3 Roma tomatoes
2 inch knob of fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt


Prepare the fresh vegetables: Cut the onion in half and then into thin slices. Roughly chop the tomatoes and peppers. Mince the ginger and garlic.

Heat the oil in a large, deep saute pan, over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds to the oil. Be ready with a lid - they will pop!

When you hear them popping like popcorn, add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion begins to brown. Add the peppers, ginger and garlic and cook for a minute longer.

Add the spices to the pan, stirring to coat the vegetables. Cook for two minutes, scrapping the bottom of the pan so that it doesn't burn. Add the tomatoes, cooking for another minute, stirring to coat with the spices.

Add the prawns to the pan. Cook, stirring to coat with spices. Continue to cook for about 4 or 5 minutes. Salt the prawns and taste for doneness and the correct amount of salt.

Pour in the coconut milk. You can start with half of the can, and add more as you like. I prefer more sauce and a sweet smooth flavor, so I used most of the can. If you want a spicier flavor, use less. Bring to a simmer. Taste again and adjust salt or coconut milk if necessary.

Serve with steamed rice or warm flat bread. I made a grated carrot and savoy cabbage salad to accompany. The sweetness of the carrots and the earthy spice of the curry were a nice team.

(By the way - I used the remainder of the coconut milk to tone down the curry sauce for the baby to eat with rice. It is a good way to introduce little ones to more complex & spicy flavor profiles, while cooling it to child-friendly level.)