spicy masala shrimp with zucchini and coconut rice

shrimp masala curry

The last few months have been hectic with work so I found it hard to take time out and do the things I enjoy. So this week, I made time for friends and for adventure and for bike rides. It also helped that Vancouver has been sunny for days so it’s been easy to meet up with friends and take some time out for myself without needing to bring along an umbrella. To say that this past week was fun is an understatement. It’s been awesome. And by way of an introduction, so is this meal.

shrimp masala curry

I made this a few weeks ago, but I’m already thinking that it’s time for a repeat. It’s spicy and warming and perfect on nights when there’s a chill in the air. Fall is here and we’ve been tempted to turn on our heat (but so far, we’re resisting). This would make an ideal warm-up dinner. We’re lucky to still get some nice looking tomatoes from our csa (though I doubt we’ll see any more to come as we got our first bit of frost this week), so I chopped up some nice golden heirlooms and reduced them down with some onions and garlic. A spoonful of my favorite curry paste bumps up the spice. Yogurt, coconut milk and a dollop of mango chutney get involved as does some zucchini. If it’s hard to find zucchini now, try subbing in some colourful peppers or get all up in autumn’s grill and add in some roasted butternut or acorn squash or even some sweet potatoes. Really, I think that would be just grand.

shrimp masala curry

If you think it’s easy to screw up shrimp, give this meal a try because I think it’s almost impossible to cook them badly here. Just make sure that adding the shrimp is the last thing you do. The lime & chili marinated shrimp only need 2 minutes to cook, so once the sauce is prepared, the rest is a breeze. I served this over coconut rice which is a heck of a lot easier to prepare than it sounds. I just took the leftover coconut milk from the sauce and dumped it into the pot of cooked rice. It’s not overly coconutty, but it made the rice creamy and worked really well with this dish. Ta da! Dinner is served.

shrimp masala curry

20 comments to “spicy masala shrimp with zucchini and coconut rice”

  1. 1
    Joy   October 17, 2011 at 8:01 pm

    This looks too good!

  2. 2
    Amy   October 18, 2011 at 3:37 am

    Yum. This looks like a delicious and warming dish for these cool days.

  3. 3
    Gretchen @ flowercityfoodie.com   October 18, 2011 at 6:54 am

    I think I’m going to have to “get all up in autumn’s grill.”

  4. 4
    Delyth   October 18, 2011 at 10:21 am

    Hi
    I’ve never come across the technique of pouring coconut milk over hot rice before. I’m guessing it makes it quite soupy. Is this something you’ve seen before or your own invention?

  5. 5
    kickpleat   October 18, 2011 at 10:57 am

    Thanks Joy, it totally is 🙂

    Indeed, Amy, thanks!

    You totally should, Gretchen!

    Delyth, I usually use a whole can of coconut milk if I’m making curry, but I realized after adding just half the can that it seemed to be at a good liquid state, so I didn’t add in the rest. So when I spied my hot rice all ready, I just figured I’d pour it in & no harm would be done. Because it was only a half can, it absorbed into the hot rice, so it wasn’t soupy at all. Necessity is the mother of invention, after all!

  6. 6
    Bijoux   October 18, 2011 at 11:38 am

    Mmm yum, coconut curry with shrimp! This is something I could feast on right now, too bad I have no shrimp in the freezer. And no more Patak’s curry paste. Sorry, I couldn’t resist “…put the lime in the coconut and mix it all up”… it’s an old song I remember from my youth…never mind 🙂

  7. 7
    Kasey   October 18, 2011 at 5:17 pm

    I totally feel you on getting overwhelmed with work. I find it so important to set aside some time for fun. Whenever I dedicate an afternoon to a good walk or a bike ride, I always feel like the life has come back to me. This looks like a fantastic, warming meal.

  8. 8
    Joanne   October 19, 2011 at 3:38 am

    I’ve been resisting the call of the heat as well and the only real solution is to make tons of warming dishes like this. Love how easy it is!

    And go you for doing things you love!

  9. 9
    kate   October 19, 2011 at 11:09 am

    YUM. Definitely making this soon!

  10. 10
    kickpleat   October 19, 2011 at 1:00 pm

    Bijoux, it’s a good one! And I totally know that song, of course.

    Hooray for celebrating the fun in life, Kasey. We need to do more of that. Thanks 🙂

    Aw thanks Joanne for your nice words.

    Thanks Kate, it’s a tasty meal!

  11. 11
    The Light in The Attic   October 21, 2011 at 6:58 am

    I made a variation on this yesterday! It ROCKED! I substituted tofu for shrimp (the marinade still worked) and unfortunately I had to omit the mango chutney… Mangoes are hard to come by in my current country and the only jar of mango chutney I could find listed ‘mango’ a little to far done the ingredient list.

  12. 12
    kickpleat   October 21, 2011 at 8:58 am

    Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Light in the Attic! And I’m sure it was delicious with tofu – I like the mango chutney because it gives this dish a bit of sweetness, but it’s not needed.

  13. 13
    Julie   October 24, 2011 at 12:09 pm

    Wow – so up my alley! Will definitely be making this!

  14. 14
    kickpleat   October 26, 2011 at 12:27 pm

    Julie, it’s a tasty meal, enjoy!

  15. 15
    Pam   October 26, 2011 at 7:21 pm

    Oh my, this was so tasty. I found the aleppo pepper labelled as Turkish pepper at my local Middle Eastern grocery store. What a discovery. My husband has been known to choke on hot pepper flakes “hidden” in dishes, but I had him sampling this stuff straight out of the jar. It is going to be my new go-to hot pepper. I also loved the idea of adding the coconut milk to the rice – I used Thai jasmine. It didn’t make it soupy at all. Instead of using light coconut milk, I just thinned about 2/3 of a regular can with water and froze the rest.

    Three very happy diners practically licked their plates clean.

    I have to tell you how delighted I am to have discovered your blog. I look forward to trying lots and lots of your recipes. Can’t wait to try the roasted broccoli and shrimp now.

  16. 16
    Robert F   October 26, 2011 at 10:02 pm

    Made this precisely as written and enjoyed it. Judy had a second portion and thought it was delicious, which is rare. When you publish the book, put the marinade step first, so cooks don’t have to stop and wait. I’ve noticed aleppo pepper in a lot of your recipes, it’s a great spice, but I think its fruitiness was lost against all of the other strong flavors.

  17. 17
    Kimberley   November 1, 2011 at 8:33 pm

    Wow, this looks delicious! I am always on the look out for new curry-like dishes to try out and prawns are my fave. Thanks for sharing! x

  18. 18
    kickpleat   November 2, 2011 at 7:39 pm

    Pam so glad you found aleppo pepper – it’s so great! And glad you both enjoyed the dish. Hooray for plate licking 🙂

    Robert F, I think you discovered my secret that I’ve actually been out of black pepper for a couple months now and only restocked my pantry recently. I was using aleppo as a very tasty sub. Glad you liked the recipe and yes, great idea on switching up the recipe to include marinating first.

    Thanks Kimberly!

  19. 19
    kris   November 3, 2011 at 12:19 pm

    can i use masala curry powder instead of paste? thanks!

  20. 20
    kickpleat   November 7, 2011 at 8:55 am

    Kris, yes of course! Use the same amount of curry powder (or whatever feel right for you in terms of spiciness!)

Leave a comment