Reminiscing Goa and the Goan Shrimp Curry

This picture was taken by yours truly at sunrise. This is the backwater at Baga beach. I was planning to paint here but then slacked off.

Whenever it gets chilly, I crave for the tropical weather. I miss the warm yet balmy nights in Goa. The sweet scent of the beach and the sound of the sea waves lashing at the shore. As you all know there is a cold wave in the tri-state area so that feeling of reverie was intensified since yesterday. When I think of Goa, I think of the fresh fish, beach, feni cocktails, peaceful and friendly Goan people and their sushegat lifestyle! Sushegat which is derived from Portuguese, means relaxed. Regarding the famous Goan feni there is a famous mantra of the Goans in Konkani, "Kaju che soro jevok boro," which means cashew feni is very good for your health! I prefer coconut feni to cashew, which is too dry for my taste.

Everything translates to food for me and of course to my husband, who is a firm believer in Sushegat lifestyle! Nothing fazes the guy, which always irritates the hell out of me (those of you who know me stop chuckling). Anyway I made shrimp curry, which is his favorite, this evening for dinner. Of course that surprised the hell out of him as I don’t cook on weekdays, especially something arduous and time consuming as Indian food. Cooking for me is very therapeutic and calms me down a lot, so whenever I am stressed I love to cook to unwind. It works wonders on my mood.

The Indian food that we get in restaurants is the typical north Indian fare and the south Indian snacks. Maharashtrian food is so underrated. A lot of my non-Indian friends are surprised that the food cooked in our home tastes so different from what is obtained at Indian restaurants. Anyway the curry turned out rather well and therefore I thought that I might share this recipe with you. It was made in very little oil. The traditional recipe calls for a lot of coconut but I used canned low-fat coconut milk and it turned out just fine!

SHRIMP CURRY

Ingredients:
1lb shrimp
Marinate the shrimp with a teaspoon of turmeric, red chili powder and a juice of one lemon and of course salt as per taste. Set it aside

For the curry:
2 onions
1 tsp peppercorns
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 cans of coconut milk.
½ tsp asafetida (an excellent digestive)
1 table sp oil
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 table spoon tamarind paste

Grind to a fine paste one onion, 1 tea spoon of peppercorns, and 2-3 cloves of garlic. Finely chop the other onion and keep aside.

Method:
Heat the oil in kadhai (wok) at high heat. Add asafetida to it. When it starts crackling, add the finely chopped onion and the paste of onion, pepper and garlic. Sauté until it becomes colorless. Add one teaspoon of red chili powder, turmeric powder and mix it well. Lower the heat to medium. Then add the marinated shrimp and sauté it well. When the shrimp gets half cooked (within five minutes), add the coconut milk and tamarind paste. Cover it and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes. The cooking time depends on the kind of stove you have. It cooks faster on an electric stove as opposed to a gas stove. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with plain white rice.

PS: I used 'Kokum,' which is dried sour plum like fruit typical of the coast of Southwestern Maharashtra and Goa in lieu of tamarind paste.