Cook and Drink

A simple but very tasty main dish. Serve it with some rice and you will have a lovely and rich dish.

We enjoyed our curry with a glass of Spanish gewürztraminer. The white wine needs to be aromatic and herbal. The gewürztraminer should come with a touch of sweetness which links nicely to the coconut and the cardamom.

What You Need

• 1 small Red Onion or a bigger Shallot
• 1 Chilly Pepper (a quarter or a half, depending on the spiciness)
• 1 Garlic Clove (both fresh and prepared)
• 1 Cardamom
• Coriander (seeds and fresh leaves)
• Ginger (fresh, 5 centimetres)
• Nutmeg
• 1 or 2 Djeroek Poeroet leaves (these are the leaves of the Makrut or Thai Lime (Citrus Hystrix); if fresh use 1 leave
• Curry Powder
• 6 – 10 fresh Shrimps
• Coconut Milk (150 ml)
• Olive Oil
• Black Pepper

What You Do

1. Clean the shrimps and remove the parts you don’t want to eat, especially the dark vein. This is actually the shrimp’s gastrointestinal tract, so not something you want to eat
2. Once cleaned, set aside
3. Cut the onion in four and then slice
4. Remove the seeds from the chilly pepper and cut the pepper in small bits
5. Fry the onion gently in a skillet with olive oil
6. Use a mortar to crush the coriander and cardamom seeds
7. Add the curry powder, the cardamom, the coriander, the grated nutmeg and the chilly pepper to the pan
8. Fry a bit more, making sure you get all the tastes
9. Add one clove of fresh garlic, one prepared and the grated ginger
10. Fry and stir
11. Start adding the coconut milk and keep stirring
12. Add the djeroek poeroet
13. When the sauce starts to thicken, check if you have sufficient sauce for the shrimps.
14. f not, add some more coconut milk
15. When thickened, add the shrimps and let cook for 4 minutes, maximum, depending on size
16. Chop the fresh coriander leaves
17. Just before serving add three quarters of the fresh coriander leaves to the curry and mix
18. Check if some black pepper is required
19. Sprinkle some more fresh coriander just before serving the dish.
20. Serve with rice, preferably Camargue red rice because it offers such a wealth of taste. Indian Basmati will also do the trick of course.