Fry

Coconut Shrimp Curry

by:
May 19, 2015
4.5
2 Ratings
Coconut Shrimp Curry
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

When I first met my husband, Arjun back in 2000 he would regale me with stories of foods he grew up eating, many with a heavy seafood emphasis, all of which sounded terribly exotic to me. My exposure to seafood up until college had been fairly limited and even 15 years ago I was still in a novice in the matters of delicacies from the ocean. I remember him mentioning this shrimp curry early on and it sounded almost Thai with its coconut milk base. On our first trip to India after we got engaged, Arjun’s grandmother made this shrimp coconut curry for us and I suddenly understood why, when he was thousands of miles away, he would talk about this dish. Its name, chingri maacher malai curry, was probably the first bit of Bengali that I learned just so I could request it again. It was slightly sweet, creamy, with soft spices and incredibly tender shrimp. I was hooked. While this dish is traditionally made with shrimp, it would be amazing with lobster too. Simply serve over Basmati rice with your favorite vegetable accompaniment. —Shveta Berry

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Shrimp Curry
  • 1.5 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 seranno or jalapeno chili
  • 1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
  • 1 cup light coconut milk
  • 1 cup full fat coconut milk or unsweetened coconut cream
  • 1 teaspoon mild red chili powder like kashmiri mirch
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon molasses, I prefer full flavored
  • Whole Spices
  • 4 small bay leaves
  • 4 green cardamom, lightly crushed
  • 8 cloves
Directions
  1. Mix the shrimp with 1/2 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tsp salt and set aside for a half hour.
  2. In the meantime, grind together the shallots, ginger, and green chili a food processor, until it is smooth.
  3. When the 30 minutes is up, heat 1 tbl of oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Lightly fry the shrimp until they turn pale golden and curl up. When the shrimp are done, remove to a paper towel lined plate.
  4. Heat the remaining 1 tbl of oil and ghee in the same dutch oven. Add the garlic and fry until it is golden and then remove. For this dish you just want the gentle taste of the garlic flavored oil. You can used the fried garlic in another dish.
  5. Add the whole spices and sauté for about 60 seconds until they release their aromas.
  6. Add the onion-ginger-chili paste and cook until it turns lightly golden and dries up. This takes 4-5 minutes.
  7. Add the coconut milk and sugar and mix well.
  8. Add the red chili powder, remaining 1 tsp turmeric, and salt. Mix well and bring the mixture to a boil.
  9. Add the molasses and stir thoroughly.
  10. Add the cooked shrimp and simmer gently for 5 minutes to combine flavors and thicken the gravy a bit.
  11. Serve this lovely curry over simple basmati rice.
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2 Reviews

kristine
kristine November 27, 2022
We love this recipe! We made it in the beginning of the pandemic and have made it at least six times since. The subtle seasoning carries a nice punch. I reduce the sweetness just for personal preference.
 
Pam D.
Pam D. July 11, 2020
I had a problem with this recipe. Two ingredients were not listed and when I went to make it I didn't know how much to put in, ie the shallots in the paste and the ghee. This was my first attempt to make shrimp curry and I didn't know if I should use canola or olive oil. Maybe this comment should be a question instead of a review.