Shrimp Fry - A recipe to toast with...

There is a small restaurant in Vadapalani, Chennai (Madras ) Called the R.R.Salem restaurant and per Nirmal ,they are supposed to make the best shrimp fry in town. Imagine my plight – for 3 yrs now the only thing I have been hearing is ‘my mother makes this well..’, ‘my mother makes this differently..’, 'my mother is the better cook' – after having exhausted myself competing with my M.I.L, now I am being compared to some 'lungi clad' cook in remote Chennai who specializes in kothu parota and shrimp fry.

So today was a throwdown between apron_clad_me and my lungi_clad_friend. And I won by letting my 5 month daughter decide the winner – she voted for ‘Ma’ !!!!

Now, shrimp fry can probably be made in ten different ways. But what makes it difficult in the U.S is the shrimp we get in the U.S is of the larger variety and different in taste to the smaller shrimps we get in India. Which means you will have to make good the loss in taste with your masala and preparation method.

Here is a recipe that works!

THINGS U NEED:

To Marinate:

• Shrimp - 1 lb
• Chilli powder - 3 tbs
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Fenugreek powder - 1/4 tsp
• Lemon juice - from 1 lemon
• Fresh ground black pepper - 2 tsp
• Salt to taste

To Chop:

• Onion - 1 big ( chop finely)
• Coconut pieces - 3 tbs

& U Need

• Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
• Fennel seeds - 1 tsp ( Crush coarsely using a stone pestle )
• Dried red chillies - 4
• Oil - 3 tbs
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Cilantro and curry leaves

METHOD:

• Make a paste with the ingredients in the" to marinate" section. Clean the shrimp and marinate it.Let it marinate for 2 hrs in the refrigerator. Finely chop the onion and coconut pieces . Heat oil in a pan,splutter mustard and add the chopped ingredients.Put the red chilly pieces in to it and fry .Add the ginger & garlic paste and fry untill the raw smell goes.Now add the marinated shrimp and cook. Don't add any water as the shrimp has a better moisture content. Now add freshly crushed fennel seeds and fry the shrimp until done.Add the chopped cilantro and fresh curry leaves at the end and serve hot.

NOTES:

• Finely chop the coconut pieces as u would chop a piece of ginger.Make sure u remove the black portion from the coconut pieces.It is not recomented to add grated coconut insted .
• Add /reduce the amount of chilli powder according to personal preferences.