This is a simple wholesome one-pot Indian-inspired shrimp curry prepared with coconut milk and spices.
It resembles the Goan shrimp curry (aka prawn curry) and the Thai shrimp curry but it's a curry in a hurry!
Global Food Recipes
with Spices and Herbs
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🍤 Ingredients
This is what you need to make this seafood curry. Full details in the recipe card further below.
- onion - medium sized or two small
- tomato - medium sized or two small
- cilantro - aka fresh coriander
- oil - any vegetable oil. You can use coconut oil too.
- ginger and garlic - ginger garlic paste can be made at home or you can get it in stores too. OR grated or finely chop ginger and garlic, the ratio is always 1:2 Ginger:Garlic.
- shrimp - small, medium or large shrimps. Fresh is preferred but you can use boiled ones too. They should be without tails!
- salt (optional) and black pepper
- turmeric - usually dried one but if you have fresh turmeric roots, than youcan use that too finely grated or chopped in.
- chili pepper ground - choose if you want some heat or not. Use Cayenne for hot, ground Kashmiri pepper for a moderate heat lending a red shade to the dish or a soft sweet paprika powder.
- cinnamon ground
- coriander seeds ground
- cumin ground
- broth - vegetable broth or seafood stock. You can also use lobster stock!
- coconut milk - can be canned store bought or homemade coconut milk
- lime - the juice form a fresh lime. You can substitute with lemon too.
🔪 How to make it?
Here is an overview of how to make this from scratch. The full recipe is located in the recipe card and comes with US and metric measurements.
Step 1
Prep and cut onion, tomato, and cilantro and keep cleaned shrimp at the side.
Sauté onion slices, tomato dice, and ginger garlic.
Step 2
Stir in raw shrimps, spices, broth, and coconut milk.
Mix together.
Step 3
Simmer your curry covered for about 15 minutes so that the flavors can develop.
Take from the heat at the end and stir in lime juice and fresh cilantro, before serving up hot.
🍴 Serving
A classic way to serve your homemade coconut milk shrimp curry is with boiled or steamed rice.
Some other rice sides dishes to serve along:
Yet, you can choose to have this curry with just bread. I love it with plain bread rolls or Indian roti flatbread.
An Indian nan bread can be served with it as well or any other plain flavored Indian flatbread.
Another unconventional way to serve up your shrimp curry is with other side dishes such as ebly wheat berries, grits, or polenta.
🍱 Storing
Store your leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Reheat your shrimp curry gradually over the stovetop, microwave, or in the oven.
I like to reheat mine in the oven in glass storage containers. Easy to move from fridge to oven, as you don't have to transfer the curry from one container to the other.
The curry gains on flavor when reheated and slightly reduced, so leftovers are welcome here!
You can also freezer your curry with shrimps in batches.
To thaw, keep in your fridge overnight or reheat from the frozen state if you are in a hurry. Reheating frozen shrimps in your curry directly without thawing first, may result in dry shrimps.
💭 FAQs
Coconut milk will curdle if you heat it up too much and too fast. Control your heat to avoid curdling. Also, adding acidity such as lime or lemon juice when the curry is boiling can curdle it as well. It doesn't look that great as when you have uncurdled curry, but it still tastes the same way, so theoretically there is nothing wrong with your curry if you spot some curdles.
Yes, you can use heavy cream, table cream, or half and half (depending on the consistency) to make this curry without coconut milk. Using other vegan milk options instead of coconut milk, such as almond milk, may result in a watery curry.
You can either leave it to simmer slowly over a longer period of time until you are satisfied with the consistency OR you can mix 1 tablespoon of coconut flour with water to create a slurry and to mix into the curry. The slurry thickens the curry too.
This shrimp curry is low carb/keto and suitable for diabetics as it doesn't contain added sugars. It's a nutritious dish, stuffed with health benefitting spices, protein-rich shrimps, and healthier fats from coconut milk.
📖 Recipe
Coconut Milk Shrimp Curry Recipe
Ingredients
Prep and cut fresh ingredients
- 1 Medium Onion
- 1 Medium Tomato
- 1 Tablespoon Cilantro Fresh
To cook
- 1 Tablespoon Oil vegetable or coconut oil
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger + Garlic *see Notes
- 12-15 Piece Shrimp medium, *see Notes
- 1 Teaspoon Turmeric aka Curcuma, *see Notes
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
- ½ Teaspoon Red Chili Pepper ground
- ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon Ground
- 1 Teaspoon Coriander Seeds Ground
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds Ground
- 1 Cup Broth veg or seafood stock
- 1 Cup Coconut Milk
- Juice of ½ lime
Instructions
- Slice onion, dice tomato and chop fresh cilantro (coriander). Keep aside with the cleaned shrimps.1 Medium Onion, 1 Medium Tomato, 1 Tablespoon Cilantro Fresh
- Heat up a pan with the oil and saute onion first alone over a medium heat setting until they appear soft.1 Tablespoon Oil
- Stir in diced tomato and ginger garlic. Combine and stir cook for a minute or. Keep on a medium to high heat setting.1 Tablespoon Ginger + Garlic
- Reduce the heat to a minimum and make some space at the center of your pan. Stir in shrimp.12-15 Piece Shrimp
- Add all the seasoning and spices. Salt, black pepper, turmeric, chili pepper, cinnamon, coriander seeds ground, and cumin ground.1 Teaspoon Turmeric, ¼ Teaspoon Salt, ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground, ½ Teaspoon Red Chili Pepper, ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon Ground, 1 Teaspoon Coriander Seeds Ground, 1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds Ground
- Increase the heat setting to medium and combine all the ingredients. Stir cook for a minute.
- Pour in broth and coconut milk. Mix everything well.1 Cup Broth, 1 Cup Coconut Milk
- Close curry with a cover and simmer over a slow to medium heating for about 15-20 minutes. Control heat, don't allow a rolling boil because the coconut milk could curdle.
- When you are done with the cooking, take your curry from the heat and pour in lime juice and add the fresh chopped cilantro. Mit it up.Juice of ½ lime, 1 Tablespoon Cilantro Fresh
- Serve up hot.
Notes
- Use Ginger garlic paste or finely grated or chopped ginger and garlic. The ratio is 1:2 Ginger:Garlic and 3 servings require 1 tablespoon ginger and garlic combined.
- The shrimp size indicated as medium is for the 20-25 shrimps, which is required to serve about 3 people. If you use smaller shrimps, add more. If you use larger shrimps use fewer shrimps. You can also weigh your shrimps to be more exact. See metric measurement. 240 grams =8.5 ounces.
- Turmeric is also known as Curcuma. You can use standard ground and dried turmeric OR fresh turmeric root, grated or chopped fine.
Equipment
- Wok or Large Deep Pan or Medium Sized Pot
