Stella's Kerala Shrimp Curry Recipe

Don McKellar Learns to Cook in Cooking With Stella at TIFF

© Cindy McGlynn

Sep 16, 2009

The movie Cooking with Stella, premiering at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival is as much a comedy of errors as it is a foodie-film - but when the food takes centre stage, the film is at its brightest. Directed by Dilip Mehta (with screenplay co-written with Oscar nominated Water director Deepa Mehta - and Dilip`s sister to boot), Cooking with Stella follows a young Canadian diplomatic couple (Don McKellar and Lisa Ray) as they take up residence in New Delhi and navigate the topsy turvy waters of their new posting with good-natured but deceptive servants, and a class system that confounds them.

McKellar plays an off-duty chef who hires his new cook to be his Indian Cooking Guru -- the scene stealing Seema Biswas as Stella. Hilarity and glorious cooking ensues. Stella`s Kerala Shrimp Curry is one of the first dishes they cook together. The recipe is reprinted here with permission.

Stella's Kerala Shrimp Curry

Shrimp and marinade:

• 1 pound frozen cleaned shrimp or 1.5 pounds fresh medium shrimp
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• Large pinch of Indian dried red chile powder or cayenne
• Generous pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice

Curry preparation:

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp brown mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seed
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 2 green cayenne chiles, seeded and minced
• 16 to 20 fresh or frozen curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp tumeric powder
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp Indian dried red chile powder, or cayenne
• 1 tbsp tamarind pulp
• Scant 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 cup canned coconut milk
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• Hanful of fresh coriander leaves

Directions:

1. Rinse off shrimp. Place in medium sized bowl, add the marinade ingredients, stir well and set aside.
2. Chop the tamarind pup coarsely and place in a bowl. Pour in boiling water and mash tamarind a little with a fork. Set aside to soak for about 10 minutes.
3. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan or a wok, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until a pale golden colour, about 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the mustard seeds (they may pop or sputter) and cook for 30 seconds. Add the fenugreek seeds and tomatoes and stir well. Add the garlic, ginger, green chiles, curry leaves, turmeric, coriandera nd red chile powder. Cook, stirring for a minute or two , then add the coconut milk and a pinch of salt. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, strain the tamarind mixture through a seive into a clean bowl. Using a wooden spook, press the tamrind pulp against the mesh of the seive to extract as much liquid as possible. Set aside the liquid and discard the pulp.
6. Stir three tablespoons of the tamarind liquid into the simmering curry. Taste adn then adjust the balance of the flavours if you wish by adding more tamarind liquid or salt.
7. Shortly before you wish to serve, add the shrimp and any marinade to the curry adn cook until the shrimp has just changed colour - about 3 minutes. Garnish the curry with the chopped coriander and serve plain rice and lime wedges.

Cooking with Stella

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