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 Vindaloo and Indian Style Rice

How it's supposed to look:


I made soo much of that South West Pasta Bake, that I was eating it for days. By Friday, I was like "nope you need something completely different." Choice? Indian food. I love chicken Vindaloo. When I go out for Indian food, it's like almost always what I order. LOVE IT! So why pay someone else to make it, when I can make it?





How Mine looks:


Chicken Vindaloo via epicurious

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped onions
• 1 1/2 cups chopped seeded tomatoes (about 4 medium)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon garam masala*
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon (or more) cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth or water

Directions

Blend first 11 ingredients and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in processor until paste forms. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add paste from processor and cook until golden, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add chicken and potatoes; sauté 5 minutes. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Season with more cayenne, if desired, and salt and pepper.

*A spice mixture available at Indian markets, some specialty foods stores, and many supermarkets. To substitute, mix 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; use 1 teaspoon of mixture.

Indian Style Basmati Rice via Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 (2 inch) piece cinnamon stick
• 2 pods green cardamom
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Place rice into a bowl with enough water to cover. Set aside to soak for 20 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot or saucepan over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves, and cumin seed. Cook and stir for about a minute, then add the onion to the pot. Saute the onion until a rich golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drain the water from the rice, and stir into the pot. Cook and stir the rice for a few minutes, until lightly toasted. Add salt and water to the pot, and bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until all of the water has been absorbed. Let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork before serving.

Conclusion

Well I did good. Not to toot my own horn, but making this was a battle. First I had to spend a crap load of money on getting the ingredients. Then, I couldn't find one of the ingredients so I had to go to a whole different supermarket, wait for someone to figure out what cardamom is and get it for me. Of course Whole Foods is also the king of long long lines. So I waited forever on the line, got up stairs and then got ready to cook, but guess what needed a blender. At this point the meet was already out, and all the other ingredients and I had it in my head that I was going to eat Indian food, so I went up to Kmart and got my self a pretty nice blender. I begin mixing and cooking and guess what! I do not have one of the ingredients. A spice that I looked dead at and said "do I need that? No" and walked away from. So back out and got the turmeric and began to cook. An hr and a half later, I had some amazing Vindaloo chicken and rice. (side note, I had jasmine rice in my kitchen and I was not going to spend money on buying bismati rice just for this recipe) Probably the best thing I have cooked so far... :-)

My Kitchen: