This shrimp curry comes together while your rice is cooking, but if you’re really pressed for time, you can make the curry sauce ahead of time and add the shrimp at the last minute. Serves 4:
Goan Shrimp Curry
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons hot paprika or Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne, or more to taste
- 1¼ cups coconut milk–a 13-ounce can
- 1½ pounds large or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Salt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Steamed basmati or jasmine rice, for serving
- Cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional)
Heat oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is wavy, add shallots and fry until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in paprika, turmeric, pepper, and cayenne. Stir spices to make a paste.
Return pan to medium-high heat and add the coconut milk. Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring well.
Add shrimp, season well with salt, and stir to coat. Add lemon juice and turn heat to low. Cook, stirring until shrimp are pink and opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Serve with steamed jasmine rice, garnish with cilantro and enjoy!
My verdict:
Super easy and delicious! This can be spicy or not—up to you. I didn’t have any cayenne, so just added more Kashmiri chili powder until it got to a nice heat level.
When using coconut milk do not use low fat! Trust me, it can easily ruin a dish. Andrea Nguyen has a good guide to buying coconut milk on her site. I usually use Aroy-D, or Chaokoh, but prefer the Aroy-D because it also comes (here anyway) in small boxes.
If you wanted to add some spinach, you could toss it in when you add the shrimp.
And, as rarely as I use, or even have parsley, there’s almost always cilantro in my fridge for a garnish.
