Simple Masala Lemon Shrimp

Simple Masala Lemon Shrimp

Now for the other details about what I served Ruth and the ladies the other day--  It wasn’t just mango saffron claffouti, honest.  Seeing as I had planned to prepare for the festivities that morning, I was a little shocked to discover that in fact I had a hair salon appointment, and had to take off in a huge hurry. 

Luckily I had already prepared the channa and sag paneer, and this shrimp recipe is super fast.  Unfortunately, I never did have time to get around to the dusting, but since we began in the kitchen and moved to the diningroom, the dust in the livingroom wasn’t an issue.  (Have I mentioned that I’ve been crazy busy planting my garden?  More on that later.)

1 teaspoon cumin seed,
1 teaspoon coriander seed
½ teaspoon fennel seed
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
20 grates black pepper
½ teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons ghee
2 organic lemons, sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
2 fresh garlic cloves, chopped
2 Jalapeno peppers, minced
1 huge sweet red pepper, sliced into thin strips
enough peeled and deveined shrimp for 4 people (we ate a lot and had leftovers)

Using a mortar and pestle, roughly grind the seeds.  In a big pan, heat the ghee on medium high heat and then add the crushed seeds and the turmeric, pepper and salt.  After they’ve fried for a minute or two, add the lemon slices, a few at a time.  Pick them up as they warm, and squeeze the juice into the pan, and return the slices to the pan until they’re all squeezed and cooking.  Add the garlic and Jalapeno, stir, and let cook for a minute or two.  Add the red pepper and the shrimp.  (I confess to frozen shrimp, peeled but tail on, but would use fresh if I didn’t live in such a land locked environment!)

Stand guard over the shrimp, and flip each as they turn pink.  Because I was using frozen, I removed the shrimp and red pepper strips from the pan with a slotted spoon, and put them into a serving dish.  Then I cranked up the heat to reduce the water that the frozen shrimp left behind until I had a nice buttery spicy sauce.  I poured that over the shrimp and peppers, and served it with basmati rice, with channa and sag paneer on the side.  The lemon slice is edible, tasting a bit like pickle.  It's delicious!

This dish took less than twenty minutes to prepare, from start to finish.  Had I used fresh shrimp, probably five minutes!  The ladies enjoyed it, along with a lovely bottle of German white wine, a perfect accompaniment to seafood and spices.