Garlic-Scallion Stuffed Shrimp in a Creamy Tomato Curry

I love shrimp. I particularly love shrimp when they are cooked the Indian way. I’m partial to North Indian shrimp curry because it’s fiery and bold, and well, it is literally everything but boring. A friend of mine asked me to make traditional North Indian shrimp curry for her, but I was afraid she would run out of the house after the first bite because I assumed it would be too peppery for her taste. North Indian food is generally pretty spicy, and I can tolerate it because I’ve grown up eating this way, but I still wanted to make a shrimp curry that would introduce anyone to Indian cuisine, gingerly.

For that reason, I chose canned crushed tomatoes to create the base of this dish, and instead of adding an entire carton of heavy cream, I vigorously whisked some low-fat yogurt to bring in the creaminess I was looking for. I used smaller size shrimp because it’s what we had and unfortunately stuffing it with the garlic-scallion mixture was indeed mind-numbing. I’m a very impatient person, and if you too, I suggest using the colossal size shrimp if you can find them, because stuffing will be a breeze. I was going to call this South Indian Shrimp Curry, but it isn’t 100% authentic South Indian food, although it does have some South Indian spices like curry leaves and black mustard seeds. If you can’t find curry leaves don’t fret, it will still be very good. You do have to like garlic to like this curry, but as always, I encourage you to modify any recipe to impress your taste buds.

Ingredients

For the shrimp:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 pound colossal shrimp, or 35-40 small shrimp (only if you are patient), peeled, deveined

1 teaspoon ground turmeric powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cilantro

3 scallions, roughly chopped into 3 inch pieces, roots discarded

4 cloves garlic, peeled

Nonstick cooking spray

For the creamy tomato curry:

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

3 small curry leaves

1- 28 ounce can crushed red tomatoes, no salt added (no biggie if you can't find no salt added)

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon smoked paprika, or regular paprika

1 whole lemon, or 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 ½ teaspoon red chili powder (preferably Indian it has a different flavor), or cayenne pepper

1/4 cup low-fat yogurt

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

D i r e c t i o n s

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Take a small paring knife and run it into the deveined side of the shrimp to create a larger slit. Do not run your knife so far down that you separate the shrimp into two separate halves, the point is to create a slit that is large enough to hold the garlic-scallion mixture.

In a bowl, drizzle the olive oil over the shrimp and toss with the turmeric, coriander, and salt. Set aside while you make the garlic-scallion mixture.

Grind the cilantro, scallion, and garlic in a food processor until it becomes a coarse paste. Tuck this mixture into the opening of each shrimp, stuffing it as far down as you can without tearing, then use your fingers to seal the slit. Avoid overstuffing the shrimp, the mixture should not peek out too much.

Cover a cookie sheet with tin foil, spray with canola flavored cooking spray, and arrange the shrimp evenly. Set this aside and start making the curry.

Heat the oil in a medium nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, open up the canned tomatoes and have them ready to go.

Add the cumin, mustard seeds, curry leaves and fry 30 seconds, be careful as the mustard seeds will pop. Then add the canned tomatoes, stir, and bring this up to a low boil. Once it begins to boil, cover loosely with a lid, and leave a small crack open to allow steam to escape. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stir periodically.

Now back to the shrimp while you are waiting. Roast the shrimp for 12 minutes then switch the oven knob to “broil” and cook for an additional 3 minutes. (15 minutes total)

Whisk the yogurt and heavy cream as vigorously as possible to ensure there are no lumps. Stir in the yogurt mixture, salt, sugar, and chili powder to the tomato sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning to your taste if necessary.

Take out the curry leaves and blend the sauce in a food processor to pulverize the tomato chunks; if you don’t care for a smooth sauce—skip this step.

Carefully transfer each piece of shrimp to the sauce (to avoid letting the stuffing fall out), drizzle with lots of fresh lemon juice, and sprinkle over some fresh cilantro. This is best served with brown rice.

After roasting the shrimp

Masala Chai

I truly believe cinnamon makes you slap happy. This is how I feel every morning just after having my fix of chai. It's the spices in chai that make it extra special. And this is the reason it is named Masala Chai in India, masala means "spice" in Hindi.

In India, they believe cinnamon has ayurvedic properties (health benefits), which is why you'll find a lot of bark cinnamon used in Indian cuisine. It's particularly used in the beginning of cooking, so that the cinnamon has a chance to infuse the oil and permeate its flavor throughout the entire dish. It does the same thing for chai. You'll also find green cardamom pods in masala chai (think of this as India's answer to lavender), plus a few baby cloves, and one gorgeous star anise. Star anise imparts a licorice note to whatever you're cooking, but in North India, where my parents are from, I've learned that it really isn't used much in savory dishes.

I really do love Starbucks, but I laughed out loud when I read "chai" on their menu. Well, technically they're called "chai tea lattes", and the reason I found it funny is because it has a much deeper significance in my home.

Indians became dependent on chai many, many, years ago. It's this drink, that is made three to four times a day on my mother's stove top, and in a culinary sense, it's the glue in our family. It always lures me to the family room where I'll find mom and dad enjoying a cup, so I often sit down to sip and chat with them. If a friend come over, my mother asks, "Would you like some Chai?". For Indians, even the thought of tea time is customary.

It's safe to say that this is the one thing I will never give up. And it tastes best with whole milk. I'm not apologizing for that either. I love nutrition and I also love helping people discover the positivity in it, but I will never make this with low-fat milk. This is where you tell yourself that clichéd line, “All things in moderation”.

Sometimes you just have to feed your soul, and you should. But notice that the serving size is less than half a cup, and this is actually quite normal. We always drank chai out of miniature China cups back in India at my grandma's home. Out of fine quality china cups actually. She was very particular about that. Why? I have no idea. But I do know you're going to love this.

Masala Chai

Serves 2

I N G R E D I E N T S

3/4 cup cold filtered water

2 1/2 teaspoons loose Orange Pekoe tea (We swear by "Red Label")

2 1/2 teaspoons dark brown sugar (dark versus regular makes a difference)

2 teaspoons grated ginger

1/2 cinnamon stick, or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon is fine too

2 green cardamom pods, bruised

2 small cloves

1/2 star anise

1/2 cup whole milk

1.) Add the water to a small saucepan over medium high heat.

2.) Add the loose tea, sugar, cardamom pods, cloves, and star anise. Bring this up to a boil.

3.) Reduce heat to a simmer, let it boil on a low heat for 1-2 minutes.

This isn't a common step, but I do this because I like to get the tea very strong before adding in the milk. When it's done this way, the tea/milk ratio is perfect. Don't boil it very long if you like a milder flavor.

4.) Add the milk.

5.) Bring back up to a boil again.

6.) Reduce to a simmer and boil on low heat for 3-4 minutes.

Again, if you like it mild, don't boil it as long. The longer you boil it, the more water evaporates and concentrates the flavor of tea and milk. That's my preference.

7.) Use a small sieve to strain the chai in to two cups.

8.) Tell me...how does it taste?

-PS