If you are looking for the finest Instant Pot Chettinad Shrimp – Indian Shrimp Curry, this is it. Oh my goodness, you guys, the flavors in this dish are unreal!
Chettinad cuisine is the cuisine from the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu state in South India. Moreover, Chettinad cuisine is very easy to make and is popular all over India for the incredible flavors. Tamilnadu is along a coastline making seafood recipes very popular in that region.
And Guess what! Shrimp cooks very quickly in the instant pot, just 1 minute on manual setting. I use homemade Chettinad masala versus store bought masala. Because, chettinad masala is very easy to make, I have posted the recipe for the masala below. In my experience, this recipe will make approximately ½ cup masala. You can store the remaining masala in an air tight container and use it for future recipes. It lasts for approximately 3 to 4 months. Once you have the masala, you can make potatoes, chicken, paneer (cheese curd or acid-set cottage cheese), shrimp whatever you like Chettinad style. It makes life so easy.
Shrimp for Instant Pot Chettinad Shrimp – Indian Shrimp Curry:
Frozen, peeled, deveined raw shrimp from Costco. (50-70 shrimp per pound), that is the small sized shrimp.
Tamarind concentrate for Instant Pot Chettinad Shrimp – Indian Shrimp Curry:
After trying tamarind paste, tamarind concentrate, and tamarind pulp, I firmed up on tamarind concentrate. Again, tamarind concentrate is easy to use and is convenient. It is a thick dark paste sold in small plastic tubs in most Indian stores. Additionally, I like the way it tastes. Consequently, I also use it in other dishes that require tamarind.
Coconut: dried desiccated coconut is available in the Indian grocery store.
Chettinad spice mix: Firstly, dry roast whole spices in a pan on low-medium heat for a few minutes (roughly 5 to 8 minutes) and keep stirring until they change slight color and are fragrant. Additionally, Make sure that they don’t become very dark or burn. They need to moderately change color.
And the whole spices include: Coriander seeds (dhaniya ke beej), cumin seeds (jeera), whole dried red chili peppers, star anise, black and green cardamom pods, 1 inch cinnamon stick (dalchini), cloves (laung), fennel seeds (saunf), black peppercorns (poore kaalee mirch), methi seeds (fenugreek seeds), poppy seeds (khaskhas), mace (javitri), and dried desiccated coconut.
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Instant Pot Chettinad Shrimp – Indian Shrimp Curry
Ingredients
Chettinad Spice Mix
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
(dhaniya ke beej)
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
(jeera)
- 5 whole dried red chili peppers
- 1 star anise
- 1 whole black cardamom pods
(badi elaichi)
- 1 whole green cardamom pods
(hari elaichi)
- 4 whole cloves
(laung)
- 1 cinnamon stick
( inch piece dalchini)
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
(saunf)
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
(poore kaalee mirch)
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
(methi ke beej)
- 1 tsp poppy seeds (khaskhas)
- 1 mace
(javitri)
- 1 tbsp dried desiccated coconut
Curry Ingredients
- 3 tbsp oil of choice
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
(rai)
- 2 whole dried red chili peppers
- 12 curry leaves (kadi patta)
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
(heeng)
- 1 red onion finely chopped (approximately 1 and 3/4 cup chopped)
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
(freshly minced or packaged) - 1 tomato diced
- 1 serrano pepper slit lenghtwise but intact (green chili pepper)
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
(haldi)
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp red chili powder
(ground cayenne pepper) - 1/2 tsp ground coriander
(dhaniya powder)
- 1 tsp chettinad spice mix (recipe above)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 and 1/4 cups shrimp (frozen deveined shrimp, 50 – 70 count per pound)
- 1 and 1/4 tsp tamarind concentrate
Instructions
Chettinad spice mix
- Heat a pan on low-medium heat.
- Add all the spices listed under Chettinad spice mix and dry roast them. (It should take about 5 to 8 minutes). Keep stirring.
- Turn off heat and transfer them in a blender / grinder. Once the roasted Chettinad spice mix ingredients have cooled down to room temperature, blend it to a fine powder.
- For this recipe you will require only 1 tsp of the spice mix. You can store the remaining in an air-tight container for up to 4 months.
Prep for curry
- Wash and finely chop the onion and dice the tomato. Wash and slit the serrano pepper.
Cook
- Select sauté on the instant pot and adjust to normal.
- Add oil to the pot.
- When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, whole dried red chili peppers, curry leaves, and asafeotida.
- When the mustard seeds crackle, add the onions, and stir. Keep stirring occasionally.
- When the onions turn golden in roughly for 2 to 4 minutes add the ginger garlic paste.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and serrano pepper, and sauté for a few minutes until the tomatoes get mushy for 2 minutes. Keep stirring.
- Then add ground turmeric, salt, red chili powder, coriander powder, chettinad masala powder, and water. Stir well.
- Add the shrimp and stir. Make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pot and scrape the bottom of the pot well.
- Press cancel.
- Secure the lid on the pot and close the pressure-release valve.
- Select manual and cook at high pressure for 1 minute.
- When cooking is complete, use quick pressure release to depressurize.
- Open the lid.
- Select sauté and add the tamarind concentrate. Stir for 30 seconds.
- Press cancel.
- Transfer in a serving bowl immediately.
Serve
- Serve with naan (Indian flatbread), rotis, steamed rice, or parathas.
Notes
- This recipe has been tried on a 6-quart instant pot. The proportions may vary depending on the size of the instant pot you choose to use.
- All the ingredients can be easily found in an Indian grocery store.
- The shrimp can be purchased in the frozen aisle of most leading grocery stores.
- Ground cayenne pepper and red chili powder can be used interchangeably as both of them make the dish spicy. So if you don’t have red chili powder you can use cayenne pepper instead.
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