Jhinka masala (bengal lancers shrimp curry)

Yield: 2 Servings
S

1 lb Medium shrimp peeled -deveined tails left on      1/2 ts Salt
1/4 ts Turmeric      1/2 ts Mustard seeds
1 ts Cumin seeds      4 Whole garlic cloves peeled
1 Half-inch piece fresh -ginger peeled      2 Dried red chiles stemmed
1 tb Lemon juice      2 tb Mustard oil or light olive -oil
1 c Finely chopped onion      1 1/2 c Chopped tomato
1/4 c To 1/2 cup water

Freshly cooked basmati or -long-grain rice This dish was popular with the Bengal Lancers regiment around the turn of the century. For a change of pace try it over pasta or Indian basmati rice. Sprinkle shrimp with salt and turmeric. Toss well to coat; cover and set aside for 15 minutes. Combine mustard cumin garlic ginger chiles and lemon juice in a blender and puree. Set aside. Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soft about 3 minutes. Add pureed spice mixture. Cook stirring until fragrant about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato and cook until soft. Add shrimp stir gently to coat them evenly. Pour in the water and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium cover and cook until shrimp are just opaque about 5 minutes. Mound rice into heated serving plates. Spoon curry over and serve. Note: Basmati rice has a distinctive nutty flavor. It is available at Indian Middle Eastern some specialty food stores and supermarkets. PER SERVING (not counting rice): 375 calories 40 g protein 15 g carbohydrate 17 g fat (3 g saturated) 279 mg cholesterol 279 mg sodium 3 g fiber. Laxmi Hiremath writing in the San Francisco Chronicle 6/24/92.