Back In The Old Shrimp Saddle

   A while back, I had a dinner party disaster. My main course, shrimp cooked in banana leaves, was beautiful in every stage of preparation, delectable, tempting until it hit everyones' mouth and then p-tooey! It was just plain horrible. Absaltootin' inedible garbage. Bad, bad, bad. I was ashamed. No one likes to see their wonderful dinner party ruined by naughty shrimp. The only thing that saved me that night was the fact that Indian dinners have many, many, many, courses and so there was plenty of other things to eat. Even so, I was understandably reluctant to deal with the little buggers again. I was done with shrimp. My standby favorite dinner party entree treat had let me down. The shrimp trust bond was broken.
   Well, a few weeks passed and those shrimp just wouldn't leave me alone. They worked on me. They got on my last nerve.Those damn shrimp, I just couldn't quit them. So there I was, doing another dinner party. I recalled the same guests. I told them the main dish would be shrimp again and they were understandably... reluctant one might say. I promised them that I wouldn't be giving them an encore. I'd retired my banana leaves. I was going to be making an entirely new shrimp dish. I would turn over a new leaf and it wouldn't be a banana leaf.
  I planned on making a  simple and basic Kerala dish, a Shrimp Thiyal. The dish is great because it can be prepped ahead of time and once that work is done, like most shrimp dishes, it cooks quickly.

Shrimp Thiyal

Here's what to do:
  Shell and devein 2 lbs of shrimp and set them aside.

   Dissolve 1/2 tsp of tamarind concentrate in 2 Tbs of hot water and set it aside.
 Note: Tamarind concentrate can be found in most Asian or Hispanic markets and many large Supermarkets in the Hispanic food section
   In a wok or skillet toast:
    1/2 cup of grated dried unsweetened coconut
    1/2 cup of thinly sliced onion in 1 Tbs of vegetable oil

 Stir it around until the coconut turns a toasty brown.

 Place the onion coconut mixture in a food processor, spice grinder or blender. Add a tiny bit of water and grind the whole thing into a paste.

 Set it aside with the other ingredients.
 Wipe the skillet or pan clean.
 Heat 2 Tbs of vegetable oil (I use coconut oil)

When the oil is hot toss in:
 1 cup of thinly sliced onion
Stir the onion around until it softens.
 Add in:
 1 cup of water
 4 tsps of ground coriander
 1/2 tsp of ground cumin
 1/2 tsp of kashmiri chili (or 1/4 tsp of cayenne mixed with 1/4 tsp of paprika)
 1/4 tsp of turmeric
 1 fresh green serrano chili split in half
 1 tsp of salt
Mix it all together, turn the heat down and add in the shrimp.

 Cook for 5 minutes or so.
 Add in the coconut and tamarind mixture and simmer for another 5 minutes or so until the shrimp turns color.

 Take the shrimp off the heat.
 In a small skillet or pan heat:
  1 Tbs of vegetable oil
 When the oil is hot add in:
  1 tsp of mustard seeds
  10 curry leaves (you can substitute 4 bay leaves)
  4 dried red peppers

When the mustard seeds start to pop, pour everything into the pan of shrimp, stir it all together. Taste for salt.

   There it is. Shrimp redemption in under an hour. I was vindicated. My guests who before had been worried about further shrimpy adventures relaxed. In a flash all the shrimp had vanished... and not down the garbage can. Served with a great rice dish and a couple of vegetable dishes, dinner was a hit.
  Coming up next simple tricks with a dressed up dal. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

So... You Want To Be My Shrimp Vindaloo. Alans' Birthday/New Years Eve Bash.

    New Years Eve is always a puzzlement at our house. On the one hand, it's the night that everyone dreads..."Are we having enough fun yet????" The night that no night can live up to... ever. On the other hand, it's also a couple of days after Alans' birthday. Poor Alan sandwiched between Christmas and New Years. Every year we try to make his birthday special and the best way seems be to have a big New Years Eve/Birthday Party for him.
   Sometimes we'd do it outside, but after going to a very good restaurant here in Sonoma with a bunch of friends for the late seating New Years Eve Dinner, and planning a hoot of a night, we found ourselves being served dessert by our waiter with his coat on at 11:30! We looked around and saw we were the last people in the restaurant. Of course everyone came back to our house to party in the New Year there, but that was a lesson to us. New Years Eve in a small rural town is not always a hotsy totsy time.
   That's when I decided to start cooking an Indian Birthday New Years Eve Banquet for Alan. At our house I could be assured the action would keep up until well after the balls had dropped everywhere. This year was no exception.

   Last year the main dish was Goat Biryani and there was a close call with a power outage and some other fun and games. This year it was smoother sailing. There were two proteins on the menu, a Rajasthani Lamb and the wonderfully musical sounding Shrimp Vindaloo.
   Vindaloo dishes are found in the South Indian Kitchen and they are heavily influenced by the Portuguese. One thing that distinguishes them is the use of chiles and vinegar. The portuguese have a pork and vinegar dish called Vinha D' Alhos, it's just a hop skip and a jump from Vinha to Vindaloo and along the way the recipe picked up some other ingredients and a whole lotta heat. Since the lamb dish I was making was very mild and aromatic, I wanted a contrast that would spice things up and add a bit of needed bite to the table. Shrimp Vindaloo was just the ticket.
   The great thing about this dish is that it is a "make-ahead." The sauce can be made up to a day ahead and kept until serving time. Since the shrimp cooks in the sauce for only  few minutes, this dish goes into the easy-breezy-perfect-dinner-party special file.  Here's my adaptation of this classic dish.

Shrimp Vindaloo

What to do.
 Thinly slice 2 large onions.
 In a large skillet or kadhai, heat about 3 Tbs of vegetable oil. I used Tropical Traditions Organic Coconut Oil.
 When the oil is hot, add in the sliced onions and saute them until they're lightly brown.
 Toss in:
 2 tsp of chopped shallot
 2 tsp of chopped ginger
 Keep sauteing until the onions are browned a bit more.

Now for the spices.

 Add in:
6 tsp of coriander
1 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp of Kashmiri chili, or if you don't have that, 1/2 tsp of cayenne.
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
1/4 tsp of turmeric
1/8 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/8 of ground cloves
1/4 cup of white vinegar
1 and 1/2 tsp of salt
1 cup of chopped fresh or canned tomatoes
1/2 tsp of ground mustard seeds
1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut milk
2 green serrano chiles split in half..or if you want it hotter add a third.
1/4 cup of water. (you can add more if you need)

  Stir it well.
Bring the sauce to a boil, then turn it down and simmer it for about 5 minutes or so until it thickens a bit.  That's it. The sauce is done.

When you are ready to serve, add in 2 lbs of shelled and deveined large shrimp. Simmer the shrimp until they turn pink and opaque. This should take about 10 minutes.

Check your seasonings and serve.
This recipe will serve about 8 people. There were no shrimp left at the end of the dinner. It was that good.

There were a lot of other dishes served.

Lots of wines, and I was still  picking up little "surprises" around the house a day later. At least none of them were from Patsy.

She was safely near the dining room table on her best behavior.
  Finally came the dessert. The traditional birthday cake we serve around here, a Princess Cake from Scandia Bakery.

And of course Champagne.

  Our friend Heather Gordon who is an amazing artist, wanted to see the ball drop and rockets go off, so after watching Carson Daly looking like an undertaker we flipped from New York to closer to home.

 

Things got to be a little too "fun" for Patsy who not liking the fireworks, retreated behind the drapes.

  It was a great party and a great New Years Eve. I for one am glad to see this last year go out. 2010 was not one of my favorite years, and even though we're a year closer to 2012... well, it's got to be an improvement.
  I hope everyone had an equally great ring out of the old and ring in of the new.