You might have heard about Kerala’s special Fish Moilee, which is a famous Fish stew made of coconut milk and spices. This recipe of mine is a cross between Moilee and famous Thai Red Curry which is usually made with Shrimp. Thai Red Curry uses a spicy and flavorful ‘Thai Red Curry Paste’, which is made of Thai Bird’s Eye Chilies, Lemon Grass, kaffir lime leaves, Galangal (Thai Ginger) and shrmip/fish paste as main ingredients. This curry paste is very famous and used in many popular Thai recipes as the core flavoring ingredient. You can find the bottled jars of the curry paste sold in super  markets these days. The ingredients used in it are not so common in our Indian households, so I made a Curry Paste similar to it with ingredients that are usually present in Indian kitchens. This Indo-Thai Curry Paste is equally flavorful which I am sure will impress  the Indian taste buds. When combined with shrimp and coconut milk trust me, it will give you oh-so-delicious curry.

Moilee uses ginger, garlic and green chilies to spice up the coconut stew but this curry paste has dry red chilies, ginger, garlic, lemon zest, fresh coriander stems, soy sauce (instead of fish sauce) and few other spices. Hot and spicy curry paste is cooked with a cooling coconut milk along with shrimp. Try this beautiful, spicy and flavorful curry with shrimp for your next seafood meal and warm up your belly in this chilly winters. You can add any protein instead of prawns like chicken, fish, boneless lamb or tofu and vegetables like snow peas, green beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower etc.,

Indo-Thai Red Curry with Shrimp

Servings: 4

Ingredients for Curry Paste:

Kashmiri Dry Red Chilies: 12-15 (Remove the seeds and soak in hot water for 20 minutes)

Bird’s Eye Chilies/ Fresh Red Chilies: 3 (If you can’t find it use 1 tsp chili powder)

Shallots: 2 small, roughly chopped

Ginger: 1″ inch piece

Garlic: 5-6 large

Fresh Coriander Stems: 2 tbsp, chopped finely

Lemon zest: 1 tsp

Coriander seeds: 1 tbsp, roasted

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp, roasted

Black Peppercorns: 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp

Brown/White Sugar: 1 tsp

Vinegar: 1 tsp

Soy Sauce: 1 tbsp

Salt: 1 tsp

Ingredients for Shrimp Curry:

Jumbo Shrimp: 15-20, deveined

Coconut Milk: 2.5 cups thin milk (Or dilute thick milk)

Onions: 1 small, sliced

Tomato: 1 small, sliced (Remove pulp)

Green Bell Peppers: 1 small, sliced (Optional)

Fresh Coriander Leaves: 1 tbsp, chopped finely

Oil: 2 tbsp

Salt: 1 tsp

Procedure:

1. In a blender, combine everything listed in ingredients of curry paste and make a smooth paste by adding very little water. This curry paste stays good in refrigerator for 1 week in air tight container. You can even freeze it for 6 months.
2. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add 3-4 tablespoons of the curry paste and let it fry until raw smell goes off. Takes 5 minutes.
3. Add in shrimp and saute for more 5 minutes until they curl up.
4. Simmer and add coconut milk, salt and cover cook for 20 minutes or until shrimp is cooked thoroughly.
5. Add sliced onions, tomatoes and bell peppers and cook for two more minutes. These vegetable should have the crunch in the curry, so do not over cook them.
6. Adjust the seasoning and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
7. Serve hot with steamed rice or rice noodles.