Name: Stir-fried Shrimp, Kerala Style
Yield: Serves 4 to 6 as part of a rice-based meal
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon minced ginger; Pinch of fresh or dried curry leaves; 1 teaspoon raw long-grain white rice; ½ teaspoon urad dal; ¼ teaspoon mustard seed; 1 tablespoon minced green chile; 1 cup minced onions; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 1½ pounds shrimp, shelled and deveined; ¼ teaspoon dried chile pepper flakes ½ teaspoon turmeric; 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or cider vinegar; About ¼ cup water; ½ cup fresh, frozen, or dried grated unsweetened coconut; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; ½ teaspoon black peppercorns, coarsely ground; ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6
as part of a rice-based meal

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Seductions of Rice

By Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

Published 1998

About

Don’t be scared off by the number of ingredients in this recipe from Kerala. Almost all are simply seasonings for the shrimp, and if you don’t have one or two of them, you’ll still be fine (though you should have the coconut). The dish takes only about twenty minutes to prepare, including eight minutes cooking time.

The reason we’ve included this recipe is because the dish is really good, and because it gives an idea of what happens in a kitchen in South India. There is an infinite