Easiest and delicious coconut shrimp curry made with pantry ingredients. It's rich, creamy and delicious with subtle flavors from spices and coconut milk. It goes well over plain rice, flavored rice, cooked ot stir fried noodles and even with flatbreads or artisan breads.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 450 grams (1 pound) Shrimp ((cleaned, deveined, remove tail if preferred, read notes))
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 cup onion ((fine chopped - 1 medium, 130 g))
  • 1 teaspoon ginger grated ((¾ inch or 1½ tsp ginger garlic paste))
  • 1½ teaspoon garlic (pressed (4 to 5 cloves))
  • 1 cup tomatoes ((fine chop - 2 medium, or ½ cup tomato puree))
  • ¾ teaspoon sea salt ((adjust to taste))
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 to 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder ((or use paprika for low heat))
  • 1 tablespoon coriander powder ((or 1 tbsp curry powder))
  • ½ teaspoon cumin powder ((omit to use curry powder))
  • 400 ml/ 13.5 oz canned coconut milk ((1⅔ cups, or 1¼ cup raw grated coconut, read notes))
  • ½ cup (120 ml) stock/water ((omit if using small shrimp, read notes))
  • 1½ tablespoon tamarind paste ((and/or 3 tbsps lemon juice))
  • 1 tablespoon coriander leaves (chopped to garnish)

Method

How to make Shrimp Curry

  1. Heat oil in a pan and add onions. Saute till golden, for 6 to 7 mins and add ginger garlic. Saute for 1 to 2 mins, until aromatic.
  2. Stir in salt, turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder and cumin.
  3. Deglaze with 3 tablespoons water and add tomatoes. Saute till they break down to a mush.
  4. Pour coconut milk, stock/water and tamarind. Bring to a gentle boil and add the shrimp.
  5. Simmer until cooked through, for 4 to 8 mins depending on the size of the shrimp. Taste test to adjust salt. Turn off.
  6. Squeeze lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves.
  7. Serve Shrimp coconut curry over brown rice, flavored rice, cooked noodles or with flatbreads like naan, chapati or roti.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.