I really want to break free from this 'curry' tag given to all our dishes. Almost all Indian dishes are universally tagged as 'curry'. No, every Indian dish is definitely not a curry. “We have different names!" Can’t you hear them scream? I can.
So, it is just Shrimp with Mango, Malayalam name for chemmeenum mangayum.
Shrimp is not Prawn. I remember having an argument with my boss at a restaurant and me googling the whole Internet for information. Before I moved to U.S, there existed only one i.e. prawns. In U.S however everything is a shrimp.
Chemmeen, smaller size of prawns is much tastier. Kochi in Kerala, India is very famous for its shrimps, prawns, tiger prawns harvesting. Kerala’s backwaters are perfect for prawn harvesting. However most of the catch is exported and we locals don’t even get to see them. In India, Shrimp or Prawns harvest season is normally from February to March. That’s the only time you get them a little cheap.
This shellfish is a delicacy everywhere in the World. It is said to be a little high in cholesterol.
Clean shrimp. Take out the outer shell, pinch out its head and tail. Cleaning shrimp this way is called as chemeen nulluka or pinching shrimp if translated from Malayalam. This phrase is also used to tease Christians who miss the head and tail of a Sunday mass. Try to pinch the head and pull out the dark vein that runs through the middle. Or, just part the belly and take out the vein. Wash thoroughly.For 3 cups of cleaned shrimp,
Mango slices (I buy frozen mango slices from Delight Brand, since it is difficult to get sour green mangoes in U.S) – cut into 2 inch. Mango should be sour. – 1 cup
Grind together 1 cup of fresh grated coconut, 1 tsp fenugreek seeds, 3 tsp red chili powder, 2 tsp coriander seeds, ½ tsp turmeric powder with enough salt. Grind to a fine paste with 1 cup of water.
Add the coconut paste to the shrimp and mango. Add 6 tsp of garlic diced, 3 tsp of ginger grated, 1/4 cup of shallots diced. Add enough salt and cook everything until it boils. Adjust to medium heat and cook for another 5 or 6 minutes uncovered.
Do not overoook shrimp.
1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 shallot diced thin and round, 1 spring of curry leaves, 2 whole dry red chili split into two. Sauté in 2 tsp of coconut oil when hot. Sauté until the shallots turn brown. Add to the dish.
Serve with rice.
13 comments:
I so love your post. I strongly dislike the word "curry", I have a name for each of my dish and 90% of them are not curry and I hope to get that message across.
I get raw mango here and I hope to try this. Malaysian restaurants have a Mango Shrimp and I am not sure if both taste same
Hey Inji, lol, I know what you mean about Curry... I get totally confused as to what to call Indian dishes and use curry or masala as the mood strikes. :(
Love Chemmeenum Mangayum, one of my favorites, never make it here since I can't find nice sour mangoes, I will check the frozen isle next time. Thanks for the recipe.
nalla puliyulla mangayundayirunnenkil chemmenittu veykamayirunnuuuu.humm.nice post
I've never taste chemeen + mango curry. Will try this one out for sure. I didn't know mangoes obtained in frozen packets are sour....will try to get some. thanks a lot for this info.
Hey! I've one more question for you, though it's not related to this topic. It's abt brown rice. I asked Rp abt brown rice cooking tips as it takes forever to cook(tried soaking also) and when cooked, it tends to be either mushy or grainy, couldn't get it right. She mentioned that I should ask you for your tips for pressure cooking it. So will you please let me know your trick to get perfect cooked brown rice.
Thanks
Rg.
Dear Rg, It also depends on the brand of your rice. What brand did you buy? Kerala rice is Red Matta Rice. Brown rice is different.
Let me know, will be happy to assist you.
Thanks a lot for responding to my query. I appreciate it.:) I bought the brown rice from International grocery store. The brand name is NISHIKI. It's medium grain premium rice. Any tips to cook this perfectly? :)
BTW, do you recommend any good brown rice other than this? Please let me know. Thanks again inji.
Rg.
Rg,
I have never cooked with brown rice. Searched on the net with the name you gave me and it is a Japanese rice. Japanese rice is mushy and sticky, since they normally eat it with chopsticks.
Kerala red matta rice is way different. It might only be available in Indian stores, esp South Indian stores. It will be written as Kerala Red Matta Rice.
Kerala red matta rice comes in brands like Double Horse, Lakshmi, Nirapara, Pavizham etc.
For cooking red matta rice in a pressure coooker. It depends on the pressure cooker. The thing is this, if you cook toor dal and know how many whistles it will take, then divide the time by 3. That is in my pressure cooker, toor dal gets cooked when it gives out three steam whistles. So my red matta rice gets cooked in one whistle. What I do is, I add lot of water to the rice before cooking so that I can strain out the water later when it is cooked. Otherwise rice gets mushy and will turn out like a porridge. For one cup of rice I add 6 plus cups of water in the cooker. Keep on the flame for 15 minutes or until the pressure releases one time and then open it after 30 minutes.
Thanks Inji... that was very helpful. I guess next time, I'll try to buy the red matta rice instead of this Japanese variety. Thanks again for all the info.
Rg.
Hi there Inji! Well here I am on your blog to say hi! Shrimp and mango sound like a wild combination in in flavors. Certainly one to try!
"This shellfish is a delicacy everywhere in the World. It is said to be a little high in cholesterol."
Prawns are not shellfish.
Shellfish are Molluscs. Prawns are crustaceans.
:)
Kaippally,
Wiki says crustaceans are also shellfish? I am not 100% sure of wiki information though. If you are sure, please could you correct in Wiki also? People like me trust Wiki for information.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellfish
The description in Wiki is self-explanatory.
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