Monday, May 18, 2009

Kerala Shrimp Curry




Right from my childhood days shrimp used to be my favourite apart from chicken. Those days my mom used to have a hard time making me have seafood curries since I preferred few fishes that time. But shrimp was definitely an exception and on days when there was shrimp curry I was too happy to indulge on it without any help. During my work days at India whenever I went home there was shrimp curry waiting for me! As I grew up I outgrew the distaste I had for other fish varieties and now prefer seafood next to chicken. I do prefer to have shrimp in any way-be it in curries, or fried or grilled-the sight of it makes me drool!


Kerala, the coastal state is famous for its sea food dishes which form an important part of the cuisine. The seafood is so popular in the state that it has become virtually impossible to have a complete meal without it. Here in this post I have described Kerala style shrimp curry using grated coconut, spices and coconut oil. Grated coconut may be replaced with coconut milk too. But I prefer the thick texture imparted to the curry by addition of grated coconut. I adopted the recipe from my mom but changed it to suit my taste. Here I have used tamarind paste instead of gamboge. Again this was a personal choice. You may use Gamboge to get the authentic taste. Also I highly recommend the use of shallots rather than big onions and coconut oil instead of any other oil for perfect recreation of Kerala style shrimp curry. The dish forms a perfect combo with Appam/ steamed rice/ Chapati/ Roti/ Naan.

Ingredients:
Raw shrimp- 2 lb with outer shell removed
Shallots(small onions)- 15-20 sliced
Ripe tomatoes- 2 chopped
Fresh ginger minced- 1.5 tsp
Fresh garlic minced - 1 tsp
Chilly powder- 3/4 tsp(adjust according to your taste buds)
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Fenugreek powder - 1/2 tsp
Chicken masala/Garam masala - 1 tsp
Freshly grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Tamarind paste - 3/4 tsp dissloved in water
Salt to taste
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves
3 green chillies slit
Coconut oil for cooking
For marinating shrimp:
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
3/4 tsp chicken masala/garam masala
1/2 tsp ground pepper
Salt

Method:
  • Clean and drain shrimp well and marinate with ingredients mentioned under marinade.
  • Keep for 3 hours in the refrigerator.
  • Grind grated coconut to a smooth paste adding enough water. Keep aside.
  • In a pan heat 2 tsp coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds.
  • Add curry leaves and saute till it turns crisp and you get the aroma.
  • Add minced ginger, garlic and saute till raw smell goes.
  • Add sliced shallots along with green chillies and saute till shallots turn brown.
  • Add chopped tomatoes and cook till it turns mushy.
  • Add chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, masala, salt and saute till the raw smell of masalas go.
  • Add tamarind paste dissolved in water, ground coconut and enough water to cook shrimp.
  • Bring to a boil.
  • Add marinated shrimp, reduce heat to low and cook with a closed lid until shrimp is cooked well.
  • Remove lid increase heat to medium and cook for few minutes more until gravy turns thick.
  • Add fenugreek powder and mix well.
  • Add freshly torn curry leaves, 1 tsp coconut oil, mix well and remove from heat.
  • Serve hot!
Pooja.

Serve wih:

Appam

Other Seafood Dishes:

Fish CurryGrilled Fish

33 comments:

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

Wow - what a shrimp curry! I am drooling...

Padma said...

Looks great Pooja... and also the nice bright color :)

Pooja said...

Thanks HCOF and Padma :) Wow that was really quick!

Christo Gonzales said...

this looks so rich and delicious - wonderful color and how can shrimp in a great sauce be a bad thing?

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

What luck-I just got a bag of prawns yesterday and was about to surf the net for a Kerala style prawn curry!!Thank you SO much-will be trying this tomorrow,shall let you know how it turned out :)

Pooja said...

Thanks DB :) Yes shrimps in thick creamy sauce tastes great.
Sure Sweta :) Would love to hear how it turns out.

VineelaSiva said...

Wow nice curry pooja.The colour of the curry looks so inviting.Even me too love the seafood very much.Can u tell me what is gamboge?

Vrinda said...

Chemmeen curry kidilam dear..my mouth is watering

Pooja said...

Thanks Vineela :) Gamboge is dried tamarind pieces. These are soaked in water for few minutes and added along with the solution to the gravy.
Thanks Vrinda :)

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Wow thats looking gorgeous that cute little shrimp in lovely lovely gravy.

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Shrimp curry looks divine... Mouthwatering... Love the way the gravy has turned out... with appam oh jee its would taste heavenly!!!

Pooja said...

Thanks Pavithra and Ramya :)

Lena Jayadev said...

Pooja..im drooling here..nice recipe..i make in similar way wth 2, 3 differences.. i loved this... :)

Chitra said...

good looking one:)

Saritha said...

Wow delicious prawn curry,i always love malabar curries :)))

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Wow mouthwatering recipe. Looks delicious, yummyyyyyyyyyy..........

Priya Suresh said...

Yummy shrimp curry, mouthwatering!

Parita said...

Wow looks very spicy and tasty..

Nandinis food said...

Wow! I love shrimp! The curry is tempting me! I love the color of it! Lovely snaps, Pooja!

Kalyani said...

looks great pooja ... delicious ... i love prawns ....

Pooja said...

Thanks a lot Lena, Chitra, Varunavi, Valar, Priya, Parita, Usha & Kalyani for your lovely words :)

Ashwini said...

pooja..the curry looks delicious..

Chef Jeena said...

Oh look at that lovely deep colour - amazing it looks so delicious. :-)

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

That curry looks so good Pooja.
Liked that red spicy shot that u've taken.

Pooja said...

Thanks Jeena & Smitha :)

Seena said...

Mushroom rice and prawn gravy , both looks delicious! hm, drooling.. :P

Pooja said...

Thanks Seena :)

Pooja said...

shrimp curry is looking great pooja..Nice combo with mushroom rice..

Shabs.. said...

This curry looks damn tasty.....mouthwatering andappealing....yumyum....

Pooja said...

Thanks Shabs :)

Food Lover! said...

This looks EXACTLY like my mom's curry.

Question:
tried making a shrimp curry before I saw your post exactly the same recipe but no coconut and I didn't marinate the shrimp in the powder. My curry turned out more watery then a thick gravy and the colour of the shrimp didn't turn out like this - I'm always afraid to boil the curry longer because I find it just evaporates instead of thickening - any suggestions for this? I prefer not to use coconut or coconut milk if possible.

Thanks so much!!!

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for this recipe. We really enjoyed it. Very easy recipes and all common ingredients you have in your own kitchen. Only few things I did different was saute all Ginger, garlic items and blend it in a grinder so the curry would be thicker and my family wouldn't be able to isolate anything from it. Also, roasted the spices separately and add to it.

Unknown said...

Pooja,

Thank you so much for your delicious and mouth watering recipes, I really enjoy making dishes from your recipes. It is very easy and common ingridients that you have in your pantry. Next, To do list is: mutton curry! Yummy .... We also enjoyed your "kerala shrimp curry" with some boiled yucca and black coffee.Mouth watering ..... Thanks again and please keep adding more recipes.