My Style Shrimp Fry with authentic Indian spices

My Style Shrimp fry

Shrimps are one of my favorite seafood. They are low in fat but high in cholesterol. I know these days some people are avoiding eating shrimps/prawns because of its high levels of cholesterol and not good for heart and overall health. Having them sometimes a year is kinda okay for me. I generally have then seven to eight times a year!! Yes, it is true that shrimps are my favorite but JB doesn't like it much so I avoid cooking at home and rather eat them outside. I love having them at Chinese buffets as appetizers, Thai entrees, salads, pastas and sometimes make them at home in our Indian way.

So far posted only a single recipe on shrimp, this shrimp fry is a traditional way I cook whilst experimenting different flavors and spices with it. The recipe is simple and easy to follow, all you need to do is get a small bunch of curry leaves, coz that adds the real flavor and aroma to it. The best place to shop for curry leaves is the local Indian grocery stores.

Shrimps really cooks fast in about 6-7 mins or so. Once they turn pinkish white, curls and turn opaque that means they are done. If your shrimps turn rubbery solid and hard to crack that means you have overcooked them! In this recipe, I used lightly toasted coriander seeds and cumin which gives the smoky aroma to it. Rest all are very common ingredients you will find in any Indian kitchen. Little garnishing makes it worth while.

Ingredients:
20-25 shrimps, fresh or frozen
1 big red onion, minced
1 shallot, finely chopped
2-3 green chillies, avoid if you don't like it too hot
1/2 C curry leaves, finely chopped
1/2 t red chilli powder
a pinch of turmeric/haldi
2 T coriander seeds/dhaniya
1 T cumin/jeera
2 T cilantro/kothambir,roughly chopped
1 T olive oil or any cooking oil
freshly ground black pepper
Salt as per taste

Method:

• If using frozen shrimps thaw them at room temperature and de vein them and clean under running tap water. Add a tsp of salt,cover with a plastice wrap and refrigerate it.
  
• Dry roast the coriander seeds and cumin separately, cool and grind it into fine powder.
• Chop finely the red onion or mince it in a food processor, its the easy way to chop onion finely.
• Heat oil in a kadai and add the onions to it, fry for a min and then add chopped shallots and chopped green chillies.
• Add a pinch of salt to sweat the onions and then add finely chopped curry leaves. This is the main ingredient that gives flavor to this dish.
• Add turmeric/haldi, ground coriander-cumin powder, chilli powder and freshly ground black pepper. Fry for a min, sprinkle some water in between and cook till all the raw smell is gone for about 4-5 mins.
• Lastly add the shrimps, salt and mix well so that all spices are blended together, cover and cook for 6-7 mins on medium flame.
• Garnish with freshly chopped coriander and serve with hot rice or biryani.
  

more Shrimps from Padma's Kitchen:
My Style Shrimp curry

My Style Shrimp Curry

Shrimp tops everyone's list when questioned about one's favorite seafood. Shrimps are also known as 'Royellu in Telugu', Zinga or Kolambi in Marathi'. Dried shrimp is commonly used in Andhra and Maharashtrian cuisines frequently and they taste great with eggs, bottle gourd, ridge gourd and eggplants. Being living in coastal cities like Mumbai (Bombay) and Visakhapatnam, got a chance to try all varieties of seafood readily available fresh out of fisherman's net.

I remember in Mumbai when the early morning local train reaches its destination the Machiwala's (fisherman also called a Kolis) rushes out of the luggage compartment with big baskets of fresh fish to the local markets. Early hours also means very busy hours in the streets of Mumbai while I used to catch the 7:53 am Kalyan start fast Local train to go to Kurla for my work. I used to hear "Machi pani ...Machi pani" in distance when these Kolis (fishermen) used to carry the fish-loads with fishy water dripping. They shout and warn pedestrians about the fishy water that drips and we all use to give way for them.

Gosh! those fishy, smelly memories of Mumbai...... I feel Mumbaites reading this might relate it in some way or the other. Well moving on to the recipe... prawns are very easy to handle in the kitchen but they can be disastrous if overcooked. They will turn out real rubbery and hard to chew on. This curry is my isshtyle recipe for shrimps which is so juicy to taste, delectable and enticing ever, Enjoy my version of this recipe!

Click here to read on how to clean shrimp (video) and for more nutritional info on shrimps click here

Source : My own
Cuisine: Andhra, South Indian
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
Makes: 4 people
Ingredients:
1 pound of devined shrimps
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1 large ripe plum tomato, finely chopped
3-4 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder, cayenne pepper
½ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
2 tbsps coconut milk
few curry leaves
salt as per taste
1 tbsp cooking oil
roast and grind into smooth paste:
1" stick of cinnamon
2 cloves
½ tsp poppy seeds/khus khus
2 tsp grated coconut (fresh or dried)
2 cloves of garlic
small piece of ginger (optional)
2 dried red chillies
1 tsp of cumin seeds/jeera
1 tsp of coriander seeds/dhaniya
Method:

1. Clean the shrimps as shown in the above links or you can buy cleaned ones. Marinate them with salt and chilli powder, keep covered in fridge for 15 mins.
2. Meanwhile heat oil in a kadai and fry onions for few mins until pink and translucent. Add little bit of salt to sweat the onions and then add green chillies, tomatoes and fry for another 10 mins or so till the tomatoes are soft.
3. Once all the ingredients turn soft add turmeric powder and the prepared paste.
   
4. Fry till the raw smell of the paste goes off. Add the coconut milk and stir in the shrimps. Let it to cook for 5 mins approx.
5. You will know they are cooked when shrimps curl into small circles, immediately turn off the heat you don't want to overcook them and end up eating the stubborn shrimps.
   
6. Serve hot with rice or rotis, Indian bread.