A “baked curry” you say?? Yes - and it surely can be done & yes, it is just that easy! This wonderful & delicious recipe will have a tasty home made curry on your dinner table in no time and no one will be the wiser. So go ahead and let them think you slaved all day in the kitchen, it will be our little secret ☺.

I came up with this recipe out of necessity when I was at a friend’s place – bad storms had knocked out the electricity but her oven worked on gas. Frankly to be quite honest, I am not a big fan of electric stoves so this turned out to be a big blessing in disguise.

I have made this curry using shrimp but you can basically make this dish with any seafood, fish, meat, chicken, paneer or vegetables – just note that the cooking times will vary accordingly.


SPICY BAKED SHRIMP CURRY

Ingredients:

1-1½ lbs large raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined (tail-on)
2-3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1½” piece of ginger, peeled and finely minced
10-12 fresh curry leaves
¼ tsp smoked Spanish paprika
½ tsp ground cumin powder
1 tsp ground coriander powder
pinch of red chili flakes, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste
2-2½ cups thick coconut milk
juice of ½ lime (or lemon)
freshly chopped cilantro leaves for garnish

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of ingredients together and mix well to combine - making sure all the shrimp are coated in the spicy coconut milk. You can add more coconut milk if you like.

Now carefully pour the shrimp and coconut milk mixture into a large baking dish or casserole. Bake on the center rack, uncovered for 10-12 minutes or until the shrimp are fully cooked. If you like the shrimp browned a little, just broil for the last minute or so of cooking. Do not overcook. Remove from the oven, garnish with cilantro leaves and serve with fragrant Basmati rice.


VARIATIONS:

If you are planning to make this dish with meat or chicken, I would brown the meat or chicken pieces in a little oil on the stovetop before adding to the coconut milk. Just sear it quickly on all sides and it will finish cooking in the oven. For an extra burst of flavor, just add your favorite Indian spices during the searing process.