Spicy Malabar shrimp curry with succulent shrimp cooked in a tangy tomato-tamarind-based sauce with ground red chilies, perfectly balanced with aromatic fenugreek seeds.
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The recipe was originally posted in May 2019 and has been updated with new photos and video
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Inspiration
This recipe is inspired by Maunika Govardhan’s shrimp curry recipe. The flavors and aroma of curry leaves, fenugreek seeds, and mustard seeds go so well together with succulent shrimp and tangy tomatoes for a flavor-bursting dish.
Love Shrimp? Try my air fryer bang bang shrimp recipe!
Ingredients
- Shrimp
- Mustard seeds
- Onion, tomatoes, curry leaves, ginger paste, garlic paste
- Whole red chilies
- Fenugreek Seeds
- Tamarind Paste
How to Make Malabar Shrimp Curry
- Heat the oil in a heavy-bottom saucepan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and allow them to pop.
- Add fenugreek seeds and onions. Saute for a minute and add green chili along with half the curry leaves.
- Continue to cook for 5 minutes over medium heat until the onions begin to change color to a light brown.
- Make a fine paste of ginger, garlic, and dry red chili in a blender and add it to the pan. Add turmeric powder (photos 1 - 4).
- Mix well. Add tomatoes and continue to cook until they soften for 5 minutes.
- Add water along with tamarind paste and mix well. Lower the heat and bring to simmer for 2 minutes (photos 5 - 8).
- Add shrimp and cook covered over low heat for 5 minutes stirring halfway through.
- Turn the heat off and add the remaining curry leaves and cilantro (photos 9 - 12).
How to Serve Shrimp Curry
Serve Malabar shrimp curry over hot basmati rice. You can also serve it with roti or parathas. For a gluten-free option, serve with Sorghum Roti or Lentil Chilla. Pair it with a crunchy cucumber salad or cabbage salad for a delicious meal.
Storing
Leftover shrimp curry can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days. To reheat simply microwave or heat on a stovetop pan.
Tips
Always keep a bag of good quality, extra-large shrimp in your freezer. It comes in handy for a quick weeknight meal as well as for hosting dinner parties. I like to buy extra-large (11 to 13 per pound) shrimp that is either wild-caught or sustainably raised. For more details on the best places to buy shrimp check out this article from eatingwell.com
More shrimp recipes
Recipe
Spicy Malabar Shrimp
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 20 jumbo/extra large shrimps shelled, deveined and thawed
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 cup yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1 hot green chili slit lengthwise, optional
- 15 curry leaves
- 4 garlic cloves
- ½ inch ginger
- 1 dried red chili
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 3 tomatoes finely diced
- 2 tablespoons tamarind paste more or less depending on the sourness you like
- ¼ cup cilantro finely chopped
- ½ cup water
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a heavy bottom saucepan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. Add fenugreek seeds and onions. Saute for a minute and add green chili along with half the curry leaves. Continue to cook for 5 minutes over medium heat until the onions begin to change color to a light brown.
- Make a fine paste of ginger, garlic, and dry red chili in a blender and add it to the pan. Add turmeric powder and mix well.
- Add tomatoes and continue to cook until they soften for 5 minutes. Add water along with tamarind paste and mix well. Lower the heat and bring to simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add shrimp and cook covered over low heat for 5 minutes stirring halfway through. Turn the heat off and add the remaining curry leaves and cilantro. Serve with steamed Basmati rice.
Nutrition
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Freda @ Aromatic essence says
Very tempting! Big sea foodie here too 🙂 I know I will love that 🙂
Shabana says
I loved the spicy malabar shrimp. Thank you for sharing the recipe
Archana says
Thank you Freda!
healthyindiankitchen says
nice recipe!! Being a prawn lover, I have to give this a shot! 🙂
Archana says
Thank you! I hope you like it!
healthyindiankitchen says
Hey archana...I am arti's friend and neighbor... Pls follow my blog https://healthyindiankitchen.wordpress.com for Indian home food recipes 🙂
Archana says
So nice to meet you! I am following you
healthyindiankitchen says
Thanks 🙂 awesome recipes you have in your blog...even arti is a great cook...just today she prepared chocolate cake and passed on to me 🙂
Archana says
Thank you for your kind words! I am excited to try your recipes!
Monika says
I wish I could make them at home ? looks so tempting!!
Archana says
I know thats not fair that you cannot make it for yourself!
Monika says
Yeah.. I only get to eat macher jhol or any non veg dish when I visit my parents or siblings..
Archana says
Even better forward the Shrimp recipe to them 🙂
Louise Samson says
OK. Here goes. FANTASTIC recipe, Archana, thank you again (and again and again)! Now, please tell me how to keep tamarind. I kept mine well wrapped, in fridge, in air-tight glass container. Was hard as rock when I came to use it and barely managed to saw off 1 tsp. How can I soften the darn thing so it is usable, please?
Archana says
So glad you enjoyed the flavors of the shrimp curry. So I usually buy concentrate paste only because actual tamarind pieces get so hard and time consuming. I will update the recipe with a link to my fav tamarind paste. Hope that helps. The other way to soften your tamarind is to soak it in hot water. Then squeeze all the paste, strain and freeze in small portions
Louise Samson says
Me again. Is it possible to replace tamarind with lime juice (for example)? Thank you!
Archana says
yes! That works very well too.
shireen says
amazing recipe! super easy and so delicious! one of the best.
ST says
We loved this recipe. I have never cooked shrimp at home , Archana’s timing for cooking was perfect. We will make this regularly.
Juhi says
Tried this recipe! Turned out yummy loved it. I substituted the regular oil with coconut oil amd it was perfect.
Sonali Hegde says
Archana love your recipes. Loved this shrimp. Needed a quick shrimp recipe without coconut. This was perfect. Thanks
Zeleika says
Made it today and followed the recipe to the t. Delicious! This recipe is a keeper.
Archana says
Thank you!
Souad Al-Bacha says
Thank you for a lovely recipe! I used pomegranate molasses as a substitute for tamarind paste and even one tablespoon was too sour. Did I make a mistake?
Maybe next time I can use a teaspoon of pomegranate molasses to balance everything out.
Archana Mundhe says
I have not tried this recipe with pomegrante molasses. Even with tamarind paste, each brand can be more concentrated than other. So its best to add to taste.