Source: adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Ingredients:
for the shrimp marinade:
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (I usually just do a pinch)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined (sometimes I do half chicken and half shrimp if I don't have quite enough shrimp or I want more meat - I don't marinate the chicken when I do that, I just dice it, season it with salt, pepper and ginger powder, and saute it in some olive oil before everything else, then set aside till the sauce is ready)
for the sauce:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium red or yellow onion, finely chopped
Veggies of your choice to fill your pot (I use my 8 quart soup pot when I make this, and I just eyeball it to make up for the meat if I'm leaving it out, and even if I'm leaving it in, I like to have lots of veggies) some delicious ideas:
chopped cauliflower
diced potatoes
sliced carrots
chopped zucchini
peeled and chopped eggplant
diced sweet potatoes
diced bell pepper
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced or stewed tomatoes, undrained (I use Italian style and it's yummy)
1 can coconut milk, light or regular
1 cup - 1 can chicken broth, to cover veggies (if they aren't covered by the coconut milk alone)
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Hot cooked rice for serving, if desired
Directions:
For the simple shrimp marinade, toss the shrimp with the salt, pepper, cayenne and lemon juice in a resealable large bag or in a bowl. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat until rippling and hot. (If using chicken instead of/in addition to shrimp, saute the diced chicken breast and then remove to a bowl, leaving as much oil and juice in the pot as possible). Add the onion and whatever other veggies your heart desires and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the pepper, ginger, salt, garlic, coriander, turmeric and curry powder. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture is very fragrant and the onion is soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the undrained tomatoes to the pot and cook, stirring and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, for about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and broth (if needed to cover the veggies), stirring to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer covered till the veggies are soft. Add the shrimp and any accumulated juices from the marinade (and/or if you're using chicken in addition/instead, add it now).
Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the shrimp are curled, lightly pink and cooked through, about 2-4 minutes. Stir in the cilantro (I forgot the cilantro last time! and I usually just serve it as a garnish). Serve over hot, cooked rice, if desired. (And don't forget the naan - it's the main reason I make curry in the first place!)
Notes:
Wow! It's been a long time since I've posted a recipe on the ol' Bistro! But when I made this curry for Sunday dinner and both my mom and Gregg's mom asked for the recipe, I knew it was time to get it up for posterity. I started with Mel's recipe, but if you click on her link you'll see that I have made this one my own by throwing all the veggies I can think of into the pot. I love the variety. But if you don't, you can leave them out. If you do add lots of veggies, and thus add more broth, then you'll end up with a TON of curry and you'll probably be eating it every single day for lunch for a week. Which is not a bad thing, but if you hate that idea, then maybe somehow only do half. (Good luck!) Enjoy! It's delicious!
