Serves: 4
Approx cost: β¬6
Approx calories (per serving): ~650
Approx preparation and cooking time: 40 mins
I’ve heard that “Curry” has overtaken all other dishes in England to become the new national dish. Despite being about as British as Hummus there does seem to be something quite English about the idea of “going out for a curry”. Living in France, a good curry isn’t something you can come across too easily. Like decent Chinese food, the French have an, apparently, altogether more “delicate” palate, and thus restaurants have adjusted their cuisine as a result. I don’t like the sort of thing which leaves you breathing fire, but a good bit of kick is wonderful.
Here’s a really simple recipe which can be cooked up with a minimum of effort. It makes a deliciously creamy, saucy curry which tastes just like the kind you get from decent restaurants so if you’re a curry fan I’d strongly recommend you try this. Now I just need to find some curry leaves and paneer cheese to make my next batches of Indian food.
Ingredients
– A good quantity of shrimps. I have about 500g whole, cooked shrimps here
– ~400-500 ml Coconut Milk
– 1 large red Bell Pepper
– 1 large Onion
– 2 tbsps Sunflower Oil
– 3 tbsps good quality Curry Paste – something like Korma curry paste – Note: some curry pastes you really don’t want to use this quantity of… Thai Green/Red curry paste for example
– If available, a large handful of fresh Coriander
Instructions
- Start by peeling and chopping the onion, and then de-core and chop the pepper into small strips.
- Add the oil to a large saucepan and place on a hot stove. Heat the oil and then add in the onion. Fry the onion lightly for about a minute, stirring well, before adding in the curry paste and stirring to mix with the onion.
- Add in the sliced bell pepper and then pour all the coconut milk into the pan and stir gently to mix with the curry paste, onion and pepper. If you prefer, you can halve the quantity of coconut milk and add 1 part coconut milk to 1 part water instead. Place on the stove and allow to simmer, lowering the heat if necessary. Meanwhile, peel and de-head the shrimps, remembering to clean away the intestinal tract. I hate this task – it’s so time consuming and I always end up with shrimp head-juice squirting all over the kitchen so if you can get ready-peeled shrimps I’d really recommend it!
- Keep simmering the curry sauce until it has reduced in volume by a fair amount. As a result the texture should be thicker and very creamy. Once this has been achieved, chop the coriander leaves and add into the sauce, with the shrimps, and cook through for about 5 minutes. Be careful not to cook the shrimps too long or else they will dry out. Heating them in the sauce right before serving will ensure they retain their plump juiciness. Serve out with basmati rice and maybe some naan bread and enjoy!
kelly says
Mmm… some of my favourite ingredients – curry, cilantro & shrimp!! And, those are some SERIOUS shrimp you're using! I'm with you, a like a good kick… This looks great Charles! Looking forward to your next Indian instalment – will you be making Khumb Mattar with the paneer?
Charles says
Hi Kelly, thanks! The shrimps were indeed quite mighty. I figure if I'm going to spend time shelling them I may as well get really big, nice ones. It's such an annoying task π
As yet I've been unable to find a place selling paneer, although I did find a resource online on how to make your own… maybe I'll give that a shot. I was going to make Palak Paneer – never heard of Khumb Mattar, I'll look it up. There's some potato things I want to try a dhal (dal?) too because they're great!
kelly says
Khumb Mattar = cheese (paneer), peas and mushrooms (at least that's the way our local Indian spot prepares it) and it's beyond delicious! I have used bocconcini in the past as a substitute for paneer – not bad.
Charles says
Nice – I think maybe I have heard of it actually, although maybe my local place gives it a different name. Never tried it though – sounds delicious, I must try that next! π
Pure Complex says
I love a great shrimp recipe and I can't wait to try this one out. I;m not a big curry fan but why not try it anyway :). Thanks for sharing this.
Charles says
You know, it seems to be one of those things people either love or hate – no half-ways about it it seems. I guess it's the quite… "unique" taste group. The curry taste is much milder because of the coconut milk, and worst case scenario, you can enjoy the big ol' shrimps! Thanks for stopping by π
Greg says
First, those prawns are amazing. Second, that recipe is amazing. Third, I'm now hungry!
Charles says
Thanks Greg – the prawns were really fat and nice, although I'm so sick of preparing them now. Every time I went to twist off a head, I ended up with "brain juice" inside my coffee pot, over my new white t-shirt, all over the work surface, narrowly missed my eye :/
Caroline says
I'm actually not the biggest fan of curry, rather, my stomach isn't, but oh boy does this look delicious. The shrimp is absolutely gorgeous! Great post, Charles. π
Charles says
Oh dear – do you have problems every time you've tried it, or did you have a bad experience once and vowed never to touch it again?! I love Indian food – I think it's probably up there with Thai/Chinese as my favourite, although there's some incredible stuff from North Africa too – an area I should really explore here one day because I've got some great recipes!
Kristy says
I have to say, I've never de-headed a shrimp before. I've peeled and deveined, but never de-headed (or is it be-headed?!)! This looks absolutely delicious though. I didn't realize I liked curry until a few months ago, but it's fabulous. And the kiddos like it too. I'll be trying this one soon…(minus the shrimp heads – lol).
Charles says
I always think it's such a shame – the heads are SO big sometimes and it seems so wasteful. When we celebrate the Swedish crayfish holiday in August then there is a massive amount of leftover shell. I feel so bad discarding those so I've started to cook up the shells afterwards into a pasta sauce… boil all the good stuff outta them and then you can finally chuck them out when there's literally nothing left! π
fatisrecipes says
Yummm! I've tried a fair few shrimp curries, and some have been good, others not. Yours sounds great, only thing I'd add in for me would be potato… I love that stuff in my curries π
Charles says
Hi Fati – mm, I agree with the potato, although it didn't cross my mind at all this time. Definitely something to put in next time! π
Lia says
I love prawn curry! This looks fantastic and simple, and just fresh and delicious. I have to give this a try since I am on a massive curry kick lately.
Charles says
Thanks Lia! Curry is so great isn't it? I just received a new jar of my favourite curry paste AND a jar of indian pickles! I'm so looking forward to my next curry evening! π