Indian-Inspired Shrimp

Ok, I stumbled across this recipe and became obsessed.  I just had to make it, I looked at other recipes, but the whole time I knew I was going to make this one.

How it's supposed to look:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup ghee or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 1/2 cups finely chopped red onion
4 to 6 green chiles, seeded and finely chopped
3 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (13.5-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Steamed basmati rice, for serving

Directions:

Set a 14-inch saute pan over medium heat. Add the ghee and toast the mustard seeds and cumin until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the onions, chiles, ginger and garlic and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions are slightly caramelized, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste to the pan and cook for 2 minutes more. Pour the diced tomatoes into the pan and cook until reduced by about half, 3 to 4 minutes. Raise the heat to high, and add the coconut milk. Cook the coconut milk until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Season the shrimp with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt. Add the shrimp to the pan, stirring often, and cook until curled and pink, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro and season with the remaining salt. Serve the shrimp over steamed basmati rice.

How mine looks:

Conclusion:

This was a bit of a mistake. I tried my best to lower the ingredients to match a meal for one person as opposed to a meal for 4-6, like the recipe calls for.

The biggest mistake was the can of dice tomato. I'm in LA, newly moved out here and trying my best to not spend a lot of money. Which means that I purchased the cheapest brand of diced tomato. I usually use Del Mante diced tomato, but I used Safeway Brand for this and the chicken cacciatore. Both recipes tasted a bit salty and a bit off. The shrimp somehow tasted worst, because there's a lot of tomato products called to be in it.

Tomato weird aftertaste aside, I knew that the meal would have been delicious. The flavors were fine and the apartment smelled like an Indian resturant. Unfortunatlely the damn tomatos ruined everything.

This is a recipe I will try again, this time with a better can of diced tomatoes or perhaps I'll dice my own tomatoes.

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore was a huge hit when I made it for Mother's Day a few weeks ago, so I figured I'd make it again for myself.


How it's supposed to look

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs
• 2 chicken breasts with skin and backbone, halved crosswise
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons drained capers
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

How Mine looks:

With Pasta

 

With Rice

Conclusion:

Ok, so I made a lot less meat this time, only made it with 2 chicken breasts and did my best to even out the recipe. I accidentally spilled some of the liquid from the capers jar into the pot, so the chicken was a lot saltier then it was the last time I made it. In addition, I decided to have it with white rice instead of pasta, but it's still pretty delicious. It only took about 25 mins to make, with the less meat, and I enjoyed it lots. Win for me.