Coconut Shrimp Curry

I am not a great fan of Seafood. Well, to be honest, I am the only one in my family atleast give a try to eat sea food. Either my dad or my sister don’t like sea food at all.  My friend Deepthi made me to taste Shrimp often. She only eat either fish or Shrimp, and she is an excellent cook, so I started exploring those two items in different ways to make her happy.  I am not sure which cuisine this recipe belongs to, I tried to add Jamaican/ Cuban/ Thai flavors to traditional South Indian recipe. It resulted the most succulent, delicious, mildly flavored Shrimp Curry.

Total time: 25-30 mins

Ingredients:

Shrimp – 15 count, fresh/ frozen , uncooked, Peeled, Deveined  (You can also use frozen, uncooked)
Onion -  1 small, peel, chop into small pieces
Ginger Garlic Paste- ½ tbl spoon
Tomato – 1 small – wash, cut onto small pieces
Fresh grated Coconut – 1 small cup – (Grind and make a coarse paste)
Red Bell Pepper – Small or ¼ portion – Remove the Seeds, Cut to Long thin Slices (Optional)
Green Bell Pepper – Small or ¼ portion – Remove the seeds, Cut into Long thin Slices (Optional)
Salt – 1 tea spoon (As per taste)
Crushed Pepper – ½ tea spoon
Turmeric – a pinch
Red Chilli Powder – ½ tbl spoon (As per taste)
Coriander powder – ½ tbl spoon
Mustard Seeds – ½ tbl spoon
Jeera Seeds – ½ tbl spoon
Bay Leaves – 2  (Optional)
Basil Leaves – 2 or 3 (Optional)
Oil – 3 tbl spoons

Preparation Method: I used medium size, uncooked Shrimp. You can use any size, cooked or uncooked shrimp.

Take shrimp in a small bowl, mix it with Salt ,  Turmeric and crushed pepper . Take a Pan, add a spoon of oil, let it get hot. Add Shrimp and cook them for few mins. Cook 2 -3 mins at one side, flip and cook the other side.  Cook them until a little pink color. Remove from the pan and keep them aside.  If you use cooked shrimp, you don’t have to fry in the beginning.
Add two spoons of oil, heat the oil, add mustard seeds, jeera seeds. Fry for a min, and add chopped onion. Fry the onions till turns to golden brown color, add ginger garlic paste, red bell pepper, green bell pepper pieces, salt, turmeric, Red chilli powder, Coriander Powder. Fry for 2-3 mins. Stir to make sure not to burn the spices. Add shrimp, mix well, fry for a min. Add chopped Tomato, Coconut Paste, Bay Leaves, stir well. Close the lid, let it cook for 5-10 mins, bring it to simmer. Stir in the middle if required. Add chopped Basil leaves at the end to enhance the sweet flavor. Serve hot with Steamed Rice or Roti.