Sri Lankan Roasted Curry Powder and Shrimp Curry
A couple of months back, I had told you about how I was working through the Sri Lankan cookbook by Skiz Fenando – Rice and Curry. Since then one of my all time favorite recipe from this book remains the Shrimp Curry. Bold, comforting and full of flavor, I love this curry on chilly evenings. It warms the proverbial cockles.
The Story of Sri Lankan Shrimp Curry
This recipe is closely adapted from the Rice and Curry Cookbook. It is one of my favorite cookbooks showcasing the flavors of South Asia. It is comprehensive and versatile. It really is more about the color factor that I love so much because with cayenne, tamarind and lime the shrimp has plenty of happening flavor. I have adapted the recipe just a little to make it practical.
At the heart of the Rice and Curry recipes are Skiz’s recipes for his curry powders a roasted variety and the raw curry powder which he uses for recipes such as the carrot curry recipe posted here. I have also shared my thoughts and some insights to the book in my first post. Chances are quite often you will see recipes from the book featured here, I have already bookmarked so many of them.
About the Curry Powder
This curry powder has a nice balance of flavors and enough distinction for it to become my go to powder. Now, the best part of all is that you can actually get the curry powder pre-made from Skiz’s site.
The curry powder is something that is distinctive about the cuisine of Sri Lanka. There are several varieties of curry powders and they are used as needed. This is true of other curries that have travelled across the colonies, such as this Jamaican Curry powder, used in well, Jamaican cuisine.
For me as with most things, it is always about taste. The Bengali girl that I am, I love the combination of matching shrimp with coconut. Very native to me, but in this recipe, we are talking spice loaded action packed fun.
I have made this dish so many times, I am actually writing up the recipe as I like to make it. It is close and it feels more instinctive that way. It meshes into the nice and casual style of the book.
How to Enjoy this Sri Lankan Shrimp Curry?
Serve this with simple steamed rice. And then make a meal of it with a Sri Lankan carrot and beet curry and Sri Lankan coconut lentils to keep it company.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon uncooked rice
- 4 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoons fennel seeds
- 2 inch piece cinnamon stick
- 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
- 5 cloves
- 2 inch piece of pandanaus leaf
- 2 springs (about 10) curry leaves
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 11/2 tablespoons Sri Lankan Roasted Curry Powder (per recipe above)
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 11/2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 4 pods of minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon finely minced lemon grass
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 green chili minced
- 2 pounds of large shrimp shelled and deviened
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
- 1 cup of coconut milk
- 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Roast each spice separately in a small frying pan until darker and arromatic.
- Place in a coffee or spice grinder and grind until smooth.
- Store in an air-tight container and use as needed.
- Heat the oil on medium heat and add in the mustard seeds and wait for them to crackle.
- Pound the fenugreek seeds and add into the oil with the curry powder and stir well.
- Add in the onion, ginger and garlic and stir and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion wilts and begins to turn softly golden.
- Add in the turmeric, cayenne, lemon grass and the green chili and stir well.
- Add in the shrimp and the salt.
- Mix in the tamarind paste and the coconut milk and bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until the shrimp turns dark red.
- Turn off the heat.
- Squeeze in the lime juice, stir in the cilantro and serve