Spicy Shrimp Medley

We get good shrimp often, but sometimes they are not large enough for a nice curry or a stand-alone sort of dish where the shrimp is king. So, since my family of potato lovers, will try anything that has some of this tuber added to it, I do a medley of shrimp and potatoes. Yes, it is spicy, but of course, only as spicy as I want it to be. We like to have it with plain rice, "rotis" or any other sort of Indian bread with a salad. The dish tastes like a spicy pickle and so goes very well as an accompaniment too. Here is the recipe. The amounts of condiments and spices are only a guide. You need to add spices only as much as you like.

Serves 4 to 6 persons
Preparation and cooking : 30 to 45 minutes

Ingredients

1. Shrimp (small-sized) - 1 cup
2. Potatoes (boiled and diced) - 1 cup
3. Tomatoes (chopped) -1/2 cup
4. Ginger - 1/2 " piece
5. Garlic - 6 cloves
6. Onion (chopped) - 1/2 cup
7. Tamarind water - 1/2 cup
8. Black pepper (whole or powder) - 1/2 teaspoon
9. Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
10. Cumin or jeera seeds -1/2 teaspoon
11. Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon
12. Oil - 2 tablespoons
13. Water
14. Salt to taste
15. Curry leaves from a sprig or two
16. Garam masala - a pinch

Method

1. Crush the whole garlic, ginger, cumin and black pepper together in a mortar.
2. Heat oil in a wok, and add the onions. When they are browned on the edges, add the ginger/garlic mash. Saute for about 10 seconds and take the wok off the flame. Add the coriander powder and let it fry for a while in the hot oil. Add chilli and turmeric powders and saute. Add tomatoes and salt and set the wok on the stove again.
3. When tomatoes become soft and watery (or mushy), add the potatoes and shrimp. Add tamarind water and curry leaves. Add some more water if it is needed. Adjust seasoning. Cook till the shrimp and potatoes are cooked and well coated with a thick gravy. Add a pinch of garam masala and stir.
4. Serve hot with rice or "rotis".

Tips

This recipe has been adapted from a rustic dish that is part of a Kerala fisherman's simple and delicious fare. However, they do not add any potatoes in their recipe. When I have large shrimp, I forgo the potatoes and do this recipe with only shrimp. Of course, I would then be doubling the quantity of shrimp (and use no potatoes) as required in this recipe. A more original recipe would use fish tamarind rather than the plain variety. I prefer using plain tamarind for this.

It is better to add cooked (boiled) and diced potatoes as the tamarind water could prolong the cooking time for raw, diced potatoes.

Any size of shrimp can be used, but I prefer the small variety for this recipe as then it can be used as an accompaniment, like a pickle. However, this dish does not keep like a pickle.

All measures of fiery spices like chilli and pepper, can be changed suitably according to your taste, though some amount of spiciness does a lot for this dish.

Seedless tamarind water can be prepared by kneading and squeezing out a small piece of dry tamarind mass in as much warm water as needed. Here, a piece smaller than half a lime needs to be used. Of course, the amount of tamarind may be increased or decreased if you wish. Any sort of vinegar too may be used instead of tamarind water. However, be sure to taste the dish towards the end. It is likely that the vinegar evaporates away and you may need to add some more before turning off the flame.