Shrimp Tikka Masala

Because you may still have a knob of ginger left over from making those delicious chocolate gingerbread cookies (recipe posted January 15, 2010), you might as well use it up in a dish that seems exotic (to those of us who don't make curries every day) but is a snap to make. If you don't like shrimp, you can substitute skinless, boneless chicken. This Indian dish comes from Marty Stewart's January 2010 issue of Living.

A note on Garam masala from Wikipedia. The term comes from the Hindi words garam ("hot") and masala ("mixture"). Garam masala is a basic blend of ground spices common in Indian and other South Asian cuisines and is used alone or with other seasonings. The word garam refers to spice intensity, not heat; Garam masala is pungent, but not "hot" in the same way as a chili pepper. It is available in the 'spice section' of most large grocery stores.

Ingredients:

- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons grated, peeled fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon grated garlic
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 cup water
- 20 large shrimp (about 1 pound)
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Cook the onion until golden, about 20 minutes. Add the ginger, garam masala, tomato paste and chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the water and shrimp and cook until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with rice and mango chutney.

Editorial Note: I did not have any tomato paste available so used 2 teaspoons of tomato ketchup instead. Whatever works.