Home-Style Shrimp Curry

 

This is a yummy dish and simple recipe. The only humbug thing was setting up the food processor and taking it apart to clean afterwards.

At first, I thought there was too much onion. That opinion changed. Next, I thought it looked like marinara and would taste as such. That changed too. Finally, I thought the yogurt would make it too sour. Again, I was wrong.

And you know what? The curry blended in well with the sauce and I could hardly taste it (add a lot more if you're a curry lover), and the jalapeño became really mild, so mild that even the wife (who's an chili-phobe) didn't mind. I omitted the cilantro (because I don't like it) and the Italian parsley (because I couldn't find any at the supermarket).

It was great over hot steamed rice.

Ingredients

 

• CURRY POWDER, 1 teaspoon
• SALT, 1 teaspoon
• VEGETABLE OIL, 3 1/2 tablespoons
• ONION, 1 medium, quartered
• GARLIC, 3 cloves, minced
• GINGER, 1 two-inch piece, peeled and minced
• DICED TOMATOES, one 14.5-ounce can
• (Optional) CHILI PEPPERS, 1 to 2 serrano or jalapeños, halved and seeded
• SHRIMP, medium, 1 pound, peeled and deveined
• PLAIN YOGURT, 1/2 cup
• CILANTRO or FLAT-LEAF ITALIAN PARSLEY, fresh, 1/3 cup, chopped
• SWEET RED PEPPER, 2 Tablespoons, chopped or slivered fine, for garnish

Directions

1. Fine-chop the onion in a food processor, drain and reserve the excess liquid. Set the onion aside.
2. Combine the garlic and ginger and set aside.
3. Puree the tomatoes with the can's tomato liquid plus the onion juice and enough water to total one cup.
4. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven or deep skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add the onion and cook until golden, about six minutes.
6. Add the garlic-ginger mixture, chilies (if using), salt and curry powder. Stir-fry until slightly browned, a couple more minutes.
7. Add the tomato puree and simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes.
8. Add the shrimp, cover and cook over medium-low heat until the shrimp are just firm, 3 to 4 minutes.
9. Remove from the heat, then stir in the yogurt and half the cilantro (if using).
10. Serve over steamed rice and garnish with the remaining cilantro (if using), and the red peppers.