Cook and Drink

All Year

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.

Here is what you need:

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

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. Once cleaned, set aside. Cut the onion in four and then slice. Remove the seeds from the chilly pepper and cut the pepper in small bits. Fry the onion gently in a skillet with olive oil. Use a mortar to crush the coriander and cardamom seeds. Add the curry powder, the cardamom, the coriander, the grated nutmeg and the chilly pepper to the pan. Fry a bit more, making sure you get all the tastes. Now add one clove of fresh garlic, one prepared and the grated ginger. Fry and stir. Start adding the coconut milk and keep stirring. Add the kaffir lime leaves. When the sauce starts to thicken, check if you have sufficient sauce for the shrimps. If not, add some more coconut milk. When thickened, add the shrimps and let cook for 4 minutes, maximum, depending on size. Cut the fresh coriander leaves. Just before serving add three quarters of the fresh coriander leaves to the curry and mix. Check if some black pepper is required. Sprinkle some more fresh coriander just before serving the dish.
Serve it with rice, preferably Camargue red rice because it offers such a wealth of taste. Indian Basmati will also do the trick of course.