East: bengal lancers shrimp curry (jhinka masala)

2 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
Stephen Ceideburg
1 pounds Medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails left on
½ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Turmeric
½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
4 Whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 Half-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
2 Dried red chiles, stemmed
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
2 tablespoons Mustard oil or light olive oil
1 cup Finely chopped onion
1½ cup Chopped tomato
¼ cup To 1/2 cup water
Freshly cooked basmati or long-grain rice

Directions

This dish was popular with the Bengal Lancers regiment around the turn of the century. For a change of pace, try it over pasta or Indian basmati rice.

Sprinkle shrimp with salt and turmeric. Toss well to coat; cover and set aside for 15 minutes.

Combine mustard, cumin, garlic, ginger, chiles and lemon juice in a blender and puree. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.

Add pureed spice mixture. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Stir in tomato and cook until soft. Add shrimp, stir gently to coat them evenly.

Pour in the water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until shrimp are just opaque, about 5 minutes.

Mound rice into heated serving plates. Spoon curry over and serve.

Note: Basmati rice has a distinctive nutty flavor. It is available at Indian, Middle Eastern, some specialty food stores and supermarkets.

PER SERVING (not counting rice): 375 calories, 40 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 17 g fat (3 g saturated), 279 mg cholesterol, 279 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.

Laxmi Hiremath writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, 6/24/92.

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