I love cooking with shrimp because most of the time the recipe will be done in 15 minutes or less. And this quick and easy coconut shrimp curry is no disappointment. And its one of my mom’s recipes – which means it’s a classic that we grew up eating.
Keep the ingredients on hand and this comes together faster than you can get home delivery and tastes like it was cooked for hours. The secret is using creamy coconut milk and tahini mixed with a few basic spices to make this addictively yummy.
Different from a thai coconut curry, the pakistani spices give this curry a desi flavour. One of the key desi flavours comes from the fenugreek (methi) leaves. Try adding fenugreek to any of your curries. It’s the secret ingredient that will add that little something extra to make the flavour in your curry really pop.
Traditionally my mom makes this with yogurt, but if you are avoiding dairy, feel free to substitute a chopped tomato instead. It adds a similar tangy flavour as the yogurt does, and you get a very similar result without the dairy.
Personally I like eating this with rice. Or toss it on some cauli-rice or zucchini noodles and you have a really hearty paleo, keto or Whole30 compliant meal. This would also be great on some rice noodles for an asian fusion of flavours.
Looking for another quick shrimp dinner idea? Try this quick spicy garlic shrimp stir fry. Or this Red Curry Shrimp.
15-Minute Shrimp Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 medium onion – diced
- 1 inch ginger – sliced
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 1/2 cup yogurt (use 1 diced tomato for a dairy free version)
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 can coconut milk (12 oz)
- 1 boiled potato (optional)
- 1 pkg deveined & peeled shrimp (about 2 lbs)
- 2 tsp dried kasori methi (fenugreek) (sub dill if you don't have fenugreek)
Spice Mix
- 1 tsp red chillies
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp coriander
- 1 stick cinnamon
Instructions
- If using, chop potatoes into 2 inch cubes and boil. Once softened, drain and set aside.
- In a large saucepan or wok, heat 2-3 tbsp oil. Add onions and 1 tsp salt. Stir fry till they start to soften and turn golden.
- While the onions cook, measure out all the spice mix ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Add the ginger and garlic and stir fry for 2 minutes till fragrant.
- Add the spice mix and fry for 1-2 minutes more.
- Add the 1/2 cup yogurt (or tomato if making dairy free), 1 tbsp tahini and boiled potatoes. It will be quite dry, but very fragrant.
- Add the 1 can coconut milk and let this come to a boil.
- Add the shrimp and let this boil till the shrimp start to turn pink.
- Depending on how much liquid you like, you can add more coconut milk or water or allow this to cook for a few more minutes to evaporate some of the liquid. I don't recommend cooking for too long though, otherwise your shrimp will over cook and get hard.
- Add the 2 tsp dried methi and stir to combine.
- Taste for salt & spice and adjust to taste.
.
