Easy Shrimp and Potato Curry without Coconut Milk

With juicy shrimp and melt-in-your mouth potatoes, I love how the spicy savory sauce of this curry explodes with flavor. While traditionally eaten with steaming rice as a comfort food, I love eating this curry over leafy greens - especially at times when I am tired of cold salads. With this dish, I still get my greens, and the potatoes make me feel like I am eating comfort food. And the best part? Dinner is ready in 30 minutes!

Shrimp and Potato Curry

This curry is worth every bite because the intense flavors of slow simmered curried spices and tomato result in a delicious, finger licking sauce that make you just want to eat more. The potatoes absorb all that lovely flavor and really deepen the intensity of the dish.

What you need for this dish

The ingredients in this recipe are easily available in supermarkets and local grocery stores in the U.S. The unique taste of this dish is not due to any special ingredient but due to the technique of essentially marinating the ingredients in the most concentrated sauce possible to maximize flavor.

Shrimp - I use peeled, headless, tail on, uncooked, frozen, deveined shrimp from my local grocery store. Many stores also carry an unpeeled, cooked version of frozen shrimp. Using the unpeeled version does make an even better sauce - I just don't use it because no one at home wants to peel and eat shrimp. I don't use the cooked frozen version, primarily because I feel that cooking the shrimp in the sauce adds to the flavor.

Tomato - The tomato is essential to this recipe as it not only adds flavor but also helps bulk up and adds texture to the sauce. Without tomato, the sauce tastes oily. A good substitute would be half a small onion blended with a cup of water together with a teaspoon of ketchup.

Spices - The cumin, coriander, turmeric and chili powder are the main components of the spice flavors. If you don't have chili powder, you can use Sriracha or chili paste. You could also substitute with ketchup (adds sweetness), chili flakes (heat) and paprika (adds color and a smoky flavor). You can also substitute the cumin, coriander, turmeric with one tablespoon curry powder.

Potatoes - I like using Idaho potatoes because they retain their shape golden potatoes can melt away in the simmering stage.

Jalapeno or chilis- The dish is best made with green chilis. I substituted jalapeno because I did not have any on hand. You can also substitute the jalapeno or green chili with half a teaspoon of black pepper.

Oil - I typically use vegetable oil for this dish - but you can also use olive oil and coconut oil.

How to make Shrimp and Potato Curry

This curry is extremely easy to make and very forgiving. Having said that, the greatest danger is overcooking the shrimp.

This recipe guards against over cooking the shrimp by preparing the sauce and potatoes first. The shrimp is added right at the end so that the stove can be turned off as soon as the shrimp is done.

1. Sauté onions in oil and butter - Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, onions and jalapenos, and fry until translucent.
2. Prepare the sauce - Add the garlic and ginger paste, diced tomatoes, cumin, coriander, chili, turmeric and salt and continue to fry for about 2-5 minutes over medium-high heat. Add a little broth if the spices look too dry otherwise, they will burn. Fry the spices until the oil clearly separates.
3. Cook the potatoes till melt-in-your-mouth tender - Add the potatoes and mix with the spice mixture. Cook the potatoes over medium heat adding a little broth as needed so that the potatoes cook in the most concentrated sauce possible. Cover the skillet as needed. Stir occasionally to ensure even distribution of heat and to make sure that the potatoes don't burn. Continue simmering the potatoes until all the broth has been added and a fork easily cuts through the potatoes - about 10-12 minutes.
4. Add the shrimp - Add the shrimp and stir. The shrimp are done when they are clearly opaque and look plump and juicy - about 3-5 minutes. Taste and add more salt, if needed.
5. Add the peas - No need to cook them, just stir in for even distribution.
6. Garnish - Sprinkle with the sliced coriander leaves.

This sauce is essentially a lighter version of an Indian curry. In my curry shrimp version, we add butter to the vegetable oil for added richness and simmer the potatoes slowly to get the most concentrated, delectable sauce possible.

What to serve on the side

The classic way to serve this dish is as a comfort food with fresh green chili. I love how the delicious sauce tastes with steaming hot rice and a squeeze of lime juice. However, my favorite way to eat this is over leafy greens with a drizzle of lemon juice. Other ideas include:

• Inside a sandwich - I am not kidding it's delicious!
• By itself, with chopped scallion
• With a flatbread like roti or naan
• Over cauliflower rice

Leftovers: Shrimp and Potato Curry is awesome the next day. Once cooled, store in an airtight container for optimal freshness. For optimal flavor, heat up the curry, on low to medium heat on the stovetop. If eating with rice, reheat only the rice in the microwave.

Variations

Coconut Shrimp Curry - Add about a cup of full-fat coconut milk to this shrimp curry sauce and simmer for an additional 4-5 minutes to convert this dish into a shrimp coconut curry.