Have you noticed my banner has changed in the last few months? While I will always technically be a student of the law, I decided to make it a bit more accurate. I’ve had a busy few weeks, that aren’t over yet. It’s been trial after trial and this week I got my first not guilty. Being a criminal defense attorney, generally the verdicts come back guilty, so this is a huge victory. And as my tiredness from trial wears off this week, the next one starts Monday.
But in between court and trials and suits and high heels that hurt my feet, I’ve still found time to cook.
Anyway – this month at Belleau Kitchen’s Random Recipes we were instructed to randomly pick a book off our shelf, open it to a random page, and cook that recipe. My random number generator landed me on one of my favorite cookbooks, Best Ever Indian Cookbook. I got this book years ago, before Borders closed down, off the sale table for $9.99. I never realized it would provide me so many delicious foods.
I’ve cooked out of it a lot. In fact, it’s been the book chosen by Random Recipes before too.
Anywho, this shrimp dish was in the Soups and Appetizers section and it was suggested in the book to serve it with naan. I didn’t end up doing that. I served the shrimp as the main dish and I served it over basmati rice. It was a light meal, but it was all I really needed today. I made a few alterations with the spices because I didn’t have cardamom pods or black mustard seeds.
Now, I think I’ll stop blabbering on. I could go on forever right now.
Quick-Fried Prawns with Spices
Ingredients
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 inch ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp ground cardamom
4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
Directions
1. Combine the ginger, garlic, chili powder, turmeric, mustard, and cardamom in a bowl. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Set aside temporarily.
2. Heat a wok until hot. Add butter and swirl until melted.
3. Add the shrimp and spices and stir-fry for 2 minutes, until they begin to turn pink,
4. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked all the way through. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with coriander and serve.
* serves 4
* besides Random Recipes, this is also shared with Foodie Friday
lawstudentscookbook 
woot woot!… you’re a lawyer… this is SO hugely exciting!… well done you. And well done for creating such a gorgeous bowl of curried prawns, they look very good. I think I have this book or a version of this book somewhere too and yes it is very good… thanks so much for the brilliant random recipes entry x
Congrats on becoming a lawyer, so glad I don’t have to walk around on high heels! Your recipe looks lovely, I love prawns and this looks really easy to make
Congratulations! Passing boards and moving right into the thick of things in the courtroom must be such an incredible ‘high’! You need fast food like this recipe to keep you charged up for all the research and prep work!
I do love a good Indian meal and love Madhur Jaffrey’s cook books … and I have to laugh. I used to cruise the bargain tables at Borders too! I miss that book store chain!