p Box o' Spices: December 2006

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

India and Shrimp masala

Our move happened. Our stuff arrived. We are finally in our home in Hyderabad and have fallen into some sort of a routine. The initial excitement of eating out, eating out and more eating out has subsided. I am still working full time and was told by everybody that I will have no time and will HAVE TO to hire a cook. And so I did.Oh what luxury you may think. But nah. It turned out that I was in the kitchen from 7 am - 9 am and again from 7 pm to 8:30 pm training her. I have never felt as frustrated as I did that week. And for the first time in my life I had to fire someone.

Well, after many other trials and errors, I got into a balance with our maid. She cuts/preps the veggies and cleans up after the cooking is done. Now that's luxury to anyone who loves to cook. I'm happy and my family is happpy (although they still think I'm killing myself).

Reliance Fresh is the place I shop these days. I will post a picture sometime if they let me take one. It's a 2300 sft store which stocks some of the freshest vegetables and fruits that I have seen in a long time and some staples like rice and dal.

Here's the recipe for a quick shrimp masala that I made, quick thanks to frozen shrimp.



Shrimp peeled and cleaned - 250g
Onions - 3 medium (can use 2 cups of chopped shallots if available) chopped fine
tomato - 1 chopped fine
ginger garlic paste - 1tsp
red chili powder - to taste
jeera pwd, coriander pwd - 1/3 tsp each
cloves, cinnamon, jeera - for seasoning
curry and coriander leaves

Clean the shrimp and add turmeric pwd and salt and set aside. Heat some oil and add the seasoning and curry leaves and then the onions. Fry well. Then add ginger garlic paste and the tomato. After a few minues add the powders and fry for a couple of minutes. Wash the shrimp and squeeze out the water. Add to the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked to desired texture. Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve with hot rice or roti.