Spicy shrimp with roasted vine tomatoes and cilantro

Ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp, peeled.
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 medium onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 1-in piece fresh ginger
• About 7 or 8 vine tomatoes
• Oil for stir-frying
• Ground cumin
• Garam masala
• Cayenne pepper
• Yellow curry powder
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 lime

Procedure:

1. Cut the tomatoes in halves or quarters and put them in a foil-lined baking dish (the foil makes cleanup easier). Sprinkle with some ground cumin and salt, and roast in 450F oven for 15 minutes.
2. Chop the onions. In a small bowl, press the garlic, grate the ginger, and add some ground cumin, cayenne, curry powder, garam masala, and ground pepper. Add some water to form a paste and mix well.
3. Heat some oil in a frying pan (about 2 Tb). When it is hot, fry the onions until they are uniformly light golden brown.
4. Add the garlic paste, fry for about a minute.
5. Add the shrimp. Saute them briefly over medium heat until they start to turn pink and are coated with the spices. Lower the heat, cover the pan, and cook for a few minutes until they are almost done (pink and not translucent).
6. Add the tomatoes and stir around for a bit. Then add the cilantro, stir some more until the shrimp are completely cooked, and then turn off the heat. Serve immediately.

Ideally, you should time step 1 so that it will be done right as the shrimp are almost done, so that you can add the tomatoes right as they come out of the oven. The tomatoes are also delicious by themselves.

This recipe tastes very good with long-grain brown rice.

Katia's cooking page

Katia Hayati
Last updated October 18, 2004