This recipe comes from Monica Bhides's and is one of her favourite recipes from her upcoming book, Everything Indian.

A new young voice in Indian cooking, Monica Bhide was probably born with a mixing spoon in her mouth! Since the age of ten, cooking has been a lifelong passion for this accomplished caterer and home chef. Monica specialises in Indian cuisine and has prepared everything from an intimate dinner for two to large parties of 40. A graduate of several formal cooking courses in her native India, she is also a voracious cookbook reader and counts hundreds of cookbooks in her collection.

Frustrated by the lack of straightforward Indian cookbooks, Monica became inspired several years ago to develop simplified and healthful versions of her favorite Indian dishes. The result is the collection of mouthwatering Indian recipes in her book The Spice is Right, where Monica, in her down-to-earth and lively writing style, guides Indian food lovers on a non-intimidating and flavourful foray into home-style Indian cooking.

If you would like to purchase a copy of The Spice is Right <click here>

"If you thought one dish could not marry sweet, sour, hot, salty, tangy, spicy and tarty; you have not tried this dish yet. This comes to you from the Parsee community of India, the Parsee’s have an Iranian ancestry. I cannot encourage you enough to try this. It really has an amazing taste".

Ingredients

4 dried red chilies
2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
4 fresh garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 x 1-inch cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large red onion, minced
1 1/2 lbs. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon jaggery or brown sugar
Table salt to taste

• In a spice grinder, grind together the red chilies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cloves, black peppercorns and cinnamon, as finely as possible. Place in a glass bowl and add the turmeric, red chilies and vinegar and mix well. If you need more liquid, use water. Set aside.

• In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Add the onions and sauté for about 7 - 8 minutes or until the onions are well browned. Add the spice paste (from Step 1) and cook for another minute. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.

• Add the jaggery and salt to taste. Add about 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for two minutes.

• Serve hot.

Serves 4

Monica Bhide
The Spice is right

If you would like to purchase a copy of The Spice is Right <click here>

Recipe from Monica Bhide's upcoming book, Everything Indian © Adams Media