Tangy Shrimp with Mint

My mom gave me a cookbook a few years ago and I decided to take it off the shelf and make a recipe from it. The book is 1,000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra. There are quite a few interesting meat and veggie recipes to try.

I was planning to make lamb koftas but I realized at the last minute that the recipe called for a substantial amount of cilantro, which I didn't happen to have on hand. HORROR! So I decided to make "Tangy Shrimp with Mint" because I had most of the ingredients.

Following is the recipe as I made it (1 big serving, or 2 if you eat something else with it):

2-3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (basically equal parts fresh ginger and garlic ground up together)
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp tamarind paste (I used Goya's frozen tamarind, that stuff is great!)
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2" piece chopped ginger
10 fresh curry leaves, minced (recipe called for 2x as much, but I think curry leaves have a strong taste)
1 large jalapeno, chopped
1 small tomato, diced
1/2 tbsp cumin (recipe called for coriander but I didn't have any)
1/4 tsp turmeric
5 jumbo shrimp (recipe called for 16-20 jumbo shrimp)
yellow squash, eggplant (I added these instead of the additional shrimp)
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

Directions: Cook veggies 90% done however you like and set aside. In a medium saute pan, cook diced ginger in the coconut oil until golden, add ginger/garlic paste, curry leaves, jalapenos - cook on low heat for 1 minute or so. Mix in tomato, cumin, turmeric, tamarind paste - cook for 1 minute. Add shrimp and cooked veggies and cook for 2-3 minutes until sauce is pretty dry. Add coconut milk and cook an additional 3 minutes until sauce is thick. Serve with fresh mint on top.

OK so...now that I blabbed the whole recipe I will give you my review. It was OK. It did have a depth of flavor and tasted exotic. Would I make it again exactly like this? Probably not. I realized that I am not that into curry leaves. I guess they kind of remind me of these bushes we had in front of our house when I was a kid. They just don't taste like food to me...for some reason they taste like landscaping.

Have a wonderful amazing fabulous Tuesday!!!