Cooking with Brooke: Shrimp Vindaloo

My first Indian dish went so well, I decided to tackle one of our favorites, Shrimp Vindaloo. Here is the recipe taken from myrecipe.com with my additions (not as many this time). We thought it was delicious, though I will be tinkering it in the future to get it just the way we like it, which is exceptionally hot. You, of course, can make it as hot or mild as you like. I served it with Basmanti rice.

Shrimp Vindaloo:

2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt (as I said before, I just eyeball salt)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (I used mustard seed and crushed it; I'd suggest buying already crushed)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (I used Cayenne once again because it is what was in my kitchen.)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (I used white vinegar, which led to this funny exchange:
Joe: I thought that was poisonous.
Brooke: No, it's just vinegar.
Joe: Well, we keep it with all the poisonous cleaning supplies.
Let it be known white vinegar is a magical substance that will clean your diapers and floors then make you Shrimp Vindaloo.)
1 tablespoon canola oil (I used olive oil)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (I pulverized them into a mush because Joe HATES onions and it turned out fine.)
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons golden raisins, chopped (omitted)
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Combine first 9 ingredients in a small bowl. Add vinegar, stirring to form a paste; set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons ginger and garlic; sauté for 20 seconds. Add spice paste; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and raisins. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add shrimp; cook for 4 minutes or until shrimp are done, stirring occasionally. (As you would expect, I was not focused on the exact times for each step, except the shrimp. Over cooked shrimp is gross.)

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup) It fed me and my food-camel husband with the left-overs pictured above.

For fun, here is what it looks like sitting in a lightsphere, aglow in wonderful spiciness:

Cooking with Brooke: Khichri

Last night for dinner I made Khichri, which just a version of Indian lentils and rice. I'm terrible at following recipes and generally don't like to use timers, so my version was certainly slightly different than the recipe I am about to share, but even with all of my additions it turned out fabulously, making me assume this is a recipe you can't mess up (as long as you stay in the same flavor neighborhood). For fun, I'll include all of the changes I made in this color.

Taken from Extending The Table:

In a large sauce pan ( frying pan) heat 2 tbl. oil; I just eyeballed the oil amount.

Add and saute 2 minutes: (I sauteed longer to better enhance and combine flavors, and because I was busy organizing the spices)

1 large onion, chopped
2 green peppers, sliced (I used 1 orange. Two would have been nice)
2-inch stick of cinnamon (I didn't have a stick, so I used ground, eyeballing and, mostly, smelling how much)
4 cardamom pods or 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom (omitted)
4 whole cloves (again, I substituted ground spice here, being careful not to add too much. Cloves can be powerful.)
2 cloves of garlic, diced
Curry powder
Cayenne to taste. I actually only put a little in and added the amount I wanted to each bowl so Truman could eat the un-spiced version.

After two minutes (or more) add:

1 cup uncooked rice (if brown , soak 30 minutes and drain first) I missed that instruction because it was at the end of the recipe, so when my rice wasn't done at the end, I simply boiled the whole thing until it was done.

1/2 cup lentils. I chose to do 3/4 cup for both rice and lentils because the ratio seemed off to me.

Stir-fry for 5 minutes, then add:

1 1/2 cups of potatoes, cubed
1 cup cauliflower (omitted)
1 large tomato, chopped (omitted)
1 1/2 tsp. salt (added random amount of sea salt that was almost certainly less than this)
4 cups water

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice, lentils and vegetables are tender, 20-30 minutes. Consistency will be like stew, not dry or fluffy.

The recipe also suggests using any vegetables you want, especially dark green leafies. I suggest garnishing with cilantro.

If this post hasn't scared you away from ever cooking with me then you should try this. It was delicious and, really, It would be hard to mess it up, as you have seen. Next time I am picking up the missing spices and adding in the cauliflower and maybe some carrots.

Side note: The book says "Khichri is one of the foods that Hindu people serve to the gods and goddesses during Pujas (prayers). It is also one of the first solid foods offer to babies."