Tamarind Shrimp With Coconut Milk

Insane? The chef who provided this recipe stayed true to the way his family prepared it. I'm Indian, and we cook our shrimp with tails. Nobody is miserable; it's the way it's always been done. And, believe it or not, we eat with our fingers, so it's easy to remove the tails. If you prefer cooking your shrimp without tails while appropriating our cuisine, you're free to do so, but it's pretty insulting to say our style is insane.

I made this recipe tonight, following the instructions exactly. Two of the marinade ingredients are dry, the third is a mere teaspoon of paste. Why this instruction about excess or residual marinade and one reader's complaint about the shrimp being two liquidy to saute? My shrimp came out of the fridge in their marinade as dry as they were when they went in. I had no residual marinade at all, but could have used some! Am I missing something here?

This looks marvelous and I want our family to try it. But (but): WHY do virtually all shrimp recipes tell you to keep the tails ON?! They add little or nothing to the flavor, and they compel you to reach into the dish and pick up each shrimp with your fingers instead of with your fork! I don't understand it - and I Don't Do It! Take the tails off, and keep your fingers out of the food (unless it's a Moroccan dish, for example, that you're MEANT to eat with fingers!)

The curry leaves really add something here - worth a trip to the Asian grocery to get them. I buy them fresh then freeze the leftovers flat in a freezer bag with the air squeezed out. The color suffers but they retain their flavor for at least a month.

I didn't have a full pound of shrimp so I added a cod filet with good results. If you want a good "sear" you must do it in batches - one pound of shrimp will not come close to fitting in a single layer in a medium skillet.

Greetings -

Cooked this lovely dish tonight and used Garam Masala instead of Sambhar. The Garam Masala made for a wonderful flavor, but I am convinced that the Sambhar would've added a bolder and zestier flavor. I love Sambhar and just know it is the better option of the two.

Tips: Fine chop your cilantro right before you add it. Better freshness and no darkening. For more sauce: + 1/3 cup of water. Consider adding one finely chopped serrano chilie during the sear. Great flavor!

A+!

I don't have opinions about shrimp heads or tails, but this recipe is Indian, and Indian food is best eaten with fingers!
Why keep fingers out of food? Are you afraid to touch what you will put in your mouth? Touching your food is part of the experience, gauging temperature and texture. Ayurvedic theory also supports eating with fingers as this plays an important role in transmitting the qualities of the food into your system.

I live in the New York area and grow a curry leaves plant in a container. Bring it in during the winter. Works great.

Made this tonight and it was delish. A couple tips based on my and others questions. Despite others confidence that curry leaves are easy enough to find, I could not. I used dried kiffer lime leaves. Might be in your spice section or in the "ethnic foods" section. As others noted, do NOT use curry powder.

I also added about 1/3 cup of water to the shrimp marinade,which gave me enough leftover marinade liquid to make the final result a bit saucy. This sauce was fantastic!

So I wanted to test the basic marinade on something I had on hand. I tried it on salmon. Holy Mother of God... Yes!
This is good for other seafood, possibly chicken dishes!

Actually, shrimp shells do boost the seafood flavor and also, it protects the thin tail tips from overcooking. If you don't care about that little flavor boost, leave them out. Just for the record, if you boil the rest of the shells for just a few minutes in water, salt lightly, you will have a simple but very distinctly seafoody broth.

Better if 1/2 to 3/4 cup coconut meat flakes added with the coconut milk.

I read some of the other notes and thought this might help. This is a smarty pants recipe. My godmother is 'Portuguese-Indian and whenever I am in India, I never see anyone marinate prawns, (shrimp). Why? You don't have to. Fresh (never frozen) prawns are best flashed in a hot pan. Rub them with your favourite massala mixture before, add chopped fred chili, curry leaves, and finish with coconut milk. Plump prawns! Eat with chapatees to mop up the curry. A squeeze of lime - happiness.

Super quick and incredibly delicious dish. Will definitely be making this again (and again). Our local Asian market had the curry leaves. They were prepackaged with much more than I needed. So I washed, dried, and froze the rest.

I added about a cup of peas and large carrot (sliced on the diagonal) along with the milk & leaves to bring some veg to the meal--worked very well. I dried my shrimp on some paper towels after cleaning, so I had almost no marinade afterwards. Got a great sear.

In nearly every recipe I've seen that includes tamarind paste, it also calls for up to a cup of warm water, into which the paste is stirred. Doing this would give you plenty of marinade. You'd be hard-pressed to coat a pound of shrimp with one teaspoon of paste or concentrate by itself.

Keep your fingers out of your food? Well, you are no fun and would never be invited to a meal at my home or table where I eat with my fingers 95% of the time just because there is great joy in the licking of the herbs, spices, and juices off my fingers. It is not likely that I am alone in this joy. Thus, the popularity of so-called finger foods like chips and popcorn.