Malabar Shrimp Curry

Malabar Shrimp (prawn) curry is a spicy seafood curry from the coastal regions of south india. Succulent shrimp in a coconut laced sauce which is aromatic from fenugreek seeds and tangy from tamarind. This recipe has a burst of heat from green chilies and red chili powder and deep fragrant flavor from fresh curry leaves - all balanced by the sweetness of coconut milk.

I first tried this curry couple years back at a friends house and loved it at first bite. I asked her a rough recipe and then forgot about it until recently when I spotted it again on menu of one of the restaurants here in Las Vegas. That is when I decided to recreate from what I remembered of the recipe, the way it looked and smelled. Cooking is truly an amalgamation of senses and nostalgic in my case, if you cannot tell 🙂

My husband is a huge fan of south indian non vegetarian curries and both my kids share my love of seafood and at least once a week I make shrimp or fish curry. I cooked this delicious curry earlier this week and they lapped it up with steamed basmati rice and cucumbers (they do need a cooling side to curries :)) Serve this flavorful malabar shrimp curry with rice, pappadams and yogurt for a delicious meal.

How to Cook Shrimp Perfectly Each Time

I often get asked how to cook shrimp so that they don't end up chewy or tough. Here are few tips I keep in mind to make sure to cook perfect shrimp every time.:-

• Size of Shrimp - For curries, I always prefer wild caught or sustainably raised extra large or jumbo size shrimp. That way you can cook them with the curry sauce longer to absorb the flavors without overcooking.
• Frozen Versus Thawed :- Unless I make impromptu meals, I always prefer to thaw the frozen shrimp overnight in the fridge. There are two ways in which this helps. First being that it wont make you curries watery. Second the shrimp cooks evenly and is much succulent. However, if you want to use shrimp straight from the freezer, remember to add them to a much thicker sauce and cook them on low heat.
• Time of cooking :- Time of cooking depends on the size of shrimp you are using. Always cook shrimp on low heat. If you are using small or medium shrimp, often the heat of the curry sauce is enough to cook them through. I usually add them to sauce, stir for a couple minutes or so, cover and switch off the stove. They cook perfectly in residual heat. For large shrimp, about 5 -6minutes on cooking in low medium heat is perfect. For extra large and jumbo sizes, I do not go beyond 7-9minutes on low medium heat. Please always check the time of cooking mentioned behind the package you buy and use the times I have mentioned accordingly.
• Shell on:- These days many stores sell cleaned shell on shrimp. For the best flavor of shrimp try cooking them shell on with the curry sauce.The flavor the shell imparts is impeccable though there is extra effort needed when you eat them 🙂
  

Recipe Tips

• Coconut Paste :- For this recipe, you will need you will make a coconut paste with ginger, garlic & green chilies. Use fresh desiccated coconut or if you have dry desiccated coconut powder at home, not a problem, just add a little hot water while blending it.
• Coconut Milk :- Unsweetened, full fat organic coconut milk is the best. If you are using homemade, go for the thick first extract.
• Chilies :- This recipe uses 3 kinds of chilies - green, dried red chilies and kashmiri chili powder(mainly for the color). You can adjust the chili depending on how you like. Using this recipe, the curry will be pretty hot like the traditional ones.
• Variations :- If you have someone who does not eat seafood, you can add boiled eggs to the same curry vase and make malabar egg curry. I do it many times for my husband. For vegetarians, you can also add cauliflower or peas to the coconut sauce.