Spicy Seared Shrimp

Another great dish from Ruta Kahate's cookbook 5 spices, 50 dishes. Serve it either as an appetizer or as a main course with French bread to soak up all the delicious juices. This dish is so colorful on its own, that it doesn't even need a garnish.



Ingredients

12 jumbo or 8 oz large tiger shrimp
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
salt



Instructions:

Clean and shell the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Rinse. In a shallow bowl, combine the lemon juice, garlic, 1 tablspoon of the oil, the cilantro, cayenne, turmaric, and salt. (Some frozen shrimp are salted, so remember to take that into account.) Stir well and taste -- the marinade should be tangy and spicy. Add the shrimp and toss to coat evenly with the marinade.



Note: You can also barbecue the shrimp. Use wooden skewers that have been soaked in water for half an hour. Skewer the shrimp draining and reserving the marinade, and barbecue them over high heat until just cooked. Baste with the marinade occasionally.



Heat a large skillet on high heat and add the remaining 2 tablepsoons oil. Whe the oil is smoking, add the shrimp and marinade to the pan. Leave the heat on high. Toss the shrimp several times. Cover the pan while the shrimp cook so all the marinade doesn't evaporate. When the shrimp are just pink, about 5 minutes, remove and arrange them on a platter, pouring any remaining juices over. Do not overcook.

Serve hot or at room remperature. I love this dish served with Spinach Raita with Toasted Cumin Seed from the same cookbook.



We served it with steamed asparagus, steamed jasmine rice and a little bit of chili garlic sauce. Highly recommended!

Curry Fried Rice with Crab

Mr. K had a delicious curry fried rice in mind to go with the freshly steamed crab. We enjoyed the fresh crab scattered over the fried rice, along with some steamed broccoli and sliced avocado. The combination of flavors went together very well, especially with a nice scoop of spicy chili garlic sauce...

Our pantry only had a leek and some green garlic and some carrots, so we swapped that out for the onion and garlic... the recipe is flexible, the spices are the key ingredients!

Ingredients

For the Curry:

1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 small yellow onion, minced (about 1 cup)
1 tsp. coriander seeds, finely ground

1/2 tsp. mustard seeds, finely ground
½ tsp. finely grated garlic (about 1 large clove)
½ tsp. finely grated fresh ginger (a 1-inch piece)
½ tsp. ground turmeric
½ tsp. cayenne
½ tsp. cumin seeds, finely ground

One recipe of prepared rice pilaf or a few cups of previously cooked white rice.

salt

fresh cracked black papper

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish. We added some lemon zest and minced shallots.

Pulverize the dry spices in the primitive stone mortar Molcajete

The fragrance from the spices sizzling with the aromatic vegetables was incredible.

1. Set a medium (3 quart) saute pan over medium heat with the oil in a pan. Keep a spatter screen or lid handy - cumin and mustard seeds will sputter and pop wildly.

2. When the oil just begins to smoke, add the spice(s). Cover and allow the spice(s) to cook - this literally takes seconds. As soon as the sputting stops, it's ready.

3. Immediately add the vegetables and rice to the pan - this cools the oil and prevents the spices from burning.

4. Stir well to blend the rice and spice mixture together.

5. Fluff the rice with a fork and sprinkle with the chopped parsley mixture.

We just mixed in the freshly cooked crabmeat to preserve its pristinely sweet flavor.