Things You'll Need:
- 1 lb. 26/30 shrimp
- 3 tbsp.minced garlic
- 1 tbsp.minced ginger
- 2 tbsp.chili powder(reserve 1 tbsp. for chili oil garnish)
- 1 tbsp.turmeric powder
- 1 tsp.paprika
- 3 tsp.salt
- 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt split in 1/4 cup
- 1 tbsp.chopped green chilies
- 3/4 lb. green spinach
- 1 medium Idaho potato
- 2 tbsp. cumin seeds
- 2½ tbsp.peanut oil
- 3 tbsp. ghee but if not possible to get clarified butter would work
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tsp. saffron
- 1 whole lemon which should be sliced into wedges for garnish
- 1/2 cup chopped cashews
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
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Step 1
Marinate the shrimp with 1/4 cup of plain yogurt, 2 tbsp. of minced garlic, 1tbsp. minced ginger, 1 tbsp. chopped green chilies, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp turmeric powder. Mix thoroughly and let shrimp sit and marinate for an hour to and hour and a half, if possible even two hours in a mixing bowl covered with saran rap.
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Step 2
Rinse spinach and also peel and rinse the potato. Quarter the potato and then thinly slice the quarters. Heat up 1½ tbsp. of peanut oil on a medium high heat in a medium sized skillet. Add the 2 tbsp. cumin seeds and let them heat up and get golden brown. Then add the sliced potatoes and let them brown and cook for 2 to 3 min or until almost cooked. Next add the spinach and let wilt for 3 to 4 min, then add 1 tsp of salt, mix in thoroughly. Finish cooking the spinach for another 2 to 3 minor until most of the water has evaporated.
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Step 3
On another skillet preferred to be somewhat large, heat up the 3 tbsp. of clarified butter or ghee, which ever you can get on a medium-low heat. (clarified butter is simply made by slowly melting butter and straining the weigh that floats on top) Place the shrimp in the skillet and cook for about 2 min on each side so that they’re partially cooked. Then remove the shrimp and place on side.
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Step 4
In the same skillet, add the marinade with the ginger, garlic, yogurt and the spices and let them quickly cook for about 30 seconds. Then add the 2 cups of whole milk and the rest of the yogurt. Let the sauce cook on low heat for about 7 to 10 min or until the liquid becomes thick almost like the consistency of thick heavy cream.
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Step 5
Then add the shrimp into the sauce and just let cook on low heat for another 5 minutes. Next remove the shrimp once again until you are ready to plate. Meanwhile the sauce and should be kept warm, again until ready to plate.
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Step 6
To cook the saffron basmati rice, combine the 3½ cups of water with a 1/4 cup of the reserved sauce prepared in the previous step, the basmati rice, and the 1 tsp. of saffron in a medium sized sauce pan. Put on high heat to bring everything to a boil then once the water comes to a boil reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover the sauce pan and let cook stirring occasionally to make sure rice does not stick or burn. Cook rice for about 15-20 minutes or until the rice is soft and cooked through.
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Step 7
Chop up the cashews, scallions and cilantro for the garnish and get the sliced lemons ready to plate. Take the remaining 1 tbsp. of peanut oil and mix with the remaining chili powder, mix thoroughly and set aside for plating.
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Step 8
Now if you really want to empress who ever you are cooking for there are some ways to plate your dish to make it look professional.
Plating
Fluff up the basmati rice with a fork and plate a fourth of the rice on the bottom of the plate. Then take a fourth of the wilted spinach and potato mixture and place it on top of the rice with some height to the spinach. Then take about a fourth of the sauce and drizzle it over the spinach and rice. Next take a fourth of the shrimp and place them around the rice and spinach as well as on top. Now take a fourth of the chopped cilantro and cashews and sprinkle them over the entire plate. Then take the lemon slices and place them around the food with the tips of the lemon slices almost touching the edge of the 12” plates. Finally take some of the chili oil, which depends on heat preference to drizzle over the plate.
