Nestled among coconut palms, along the Bay of Bengal, Chennai boasts some amazing seafood and the locals savor their shrimp (or prawns as they refer to them). Mostly accustomed to shrimp cocktail, I was pleasantly surprised by shrimp sautéed in a spicy sauce and tempered with curry leaves on my recent trip to Chennai – recipe courtesy of my grandmother.

Ingredients (Shrimp Madras Masala)

  • 2 cups shrimp (peeled and deveined)
  • 2 cups tomato sauce
  • 2 tsp garlic paste
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp chili powered (or according to desired spice level)
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • Salt to taste
Method
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 45 min
(Serves 5)
  1.  Add tomato sauce, garlic paste, cumin powder, and chili powder to a sauce pan and boil the sauce until the quantity reduced by more than half.
  2. Fry the shrimp in vegetable/canola oil with the curry leaves.
  3. After the shrimp are 80% cooked, add them to the sauce and simmer for 10 min or until the shrimp are fully cooked.
  4. Serve over a bed of rice and garnish with cilantro.
  5. Enjoy!