Curried Shrimp & Potatoes

My sister and her girls returned from Guyana on boxing day (day after Christmas) and spent this past weekend with me. It was only right that I cook something for them since I had been updating her on my cooking evolution via emailed pictures and over the phone. Well my sister LOVES shrimp. I believe she would eat shrimp everyday if she could. I had a one pound bag in the fridge, so I thawed it out and tried to decide what to cook. Hmmm, 'Curry would be good' I thought to myself. 'Shoney will love that!'

Guyanese cook a variety of Curry dishes, I imagine its an attribute of our large Indian influence. Guyana is called the Land of Six People (Indians, African, Amerindians, Portuguese, Chinese and British) and our cuisines directly relate to each of these diverse cultures.

Ingredients
1 pound medium to large shrimp peeled, devined & tails removed

2 medium sized potatoes cubed
1 medium onion chopped
4 cloves garlic chopped/minced
1 + 1/2 tablespoons Indian curry powder separated
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon of thyme leaves + 2 sprigs

2 scallions (green onions)
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce or 3 wiri wiri peppers finely chopped

¼ teaspoon of garam marsala (optional)
½ teaspoon sugar (optional)
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 to 1 cup water

Preparation

• In a medium bowl, combine the potatoes, onion, garlic, 1 tablespoon of curry powder, salt, black pepper, thyme, marsala and hot pepper. Toss to combine
• In a separate bowl, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon of curry powder to shrimp and toss with green onions. Set aside.
• Add oil to large skillet over medium heat. Add potato mixture and fry until potatoes are slightly browned and garlic and onions become aromatic.
• Add water, simmer and cook for about 20 minutes until potatoes are tender.
• Add shrimp and green onions, simmer for about 3-4 minutes or until shrimp are cooked.
• Mash a few of the potatoes in the skillet to thicken the sauce

We ate ours with white rice, but this would be great with roti as well.
Note on Cooking Shrimp: It is best to thaw your shrimp out in a bowl with cold water and ice cubes.
Shrimp does not need to cook for a long time. 3-5 minutes should do great. If overcooked, the texture and consistency will be lost and be rubbery.