I prepared dinner on Monday night for a good friend and neighbor who is originally from England. He has been missing the Indian Curries that he grew up with that were prevalent in most English neighborhoods and are so popular in that part of the world. Being the nice neighbor that I am, I offered to cook a Shrimp Curry for him. It was another hot night here in Cabo but I remembered reading somewhere that eating hot, spicy food in hot weather is good for you. So when my husband suggested that it might be better on a cold, rainy night in London than during a sweltering heat wave in Cabo, I would not be swayed. My neighbor loved it and it was perfectly accompanied with a cool cucumber raita and light salad.
The curry has a lot of ingredients and it is time consuming because of prepping all of the vegetables and the shrimp. My niece recently wrote me and suggested that I add the time it takes to make a dish including all the prep. I think this curry would intimidate most people so I am just going to give you the simple Cucumber Raita recipe that works really well during the summer months. But if anyone would like the curry recipe, let me know and I would be happy to send it to you upon request.
CUCUMBER RAITA
Prep and Assembly time 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 medium cucumber (Note: Can substitute diced fresh pineapple or mango)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- Pinch of Garam Masala* (optional) – thank you Gwen for bringing it to Cabo for me
- 2 cups plain, whole-milk yogurt or Greek Yogurt
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander/cilantro or mint leaves, chopped
- cayenne or sweet paprika to garnish
Preparation
Peel cucumber. Cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips, then into thin slices crosswise or grate with a box grater. Blot off moisture with paper towels and squeeze out as much juice as you can. Toast cumin seeds for a few seconds in a small, heavy frying pan over high heat. In a bowl, stir yogurt until it is smooth. Mix it with the cumin seeds, garlic and coriander/cilantro or mint leaves. Combine mixture with cucumber slivers, sprinkle with cayenne or paprika, and chill before serving.
* Garam Masala (a mixture of spices) is a blend of ground spices common in North Indian and other South Asian cuisines.
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My idea for starting this blog was “all things” Los Cabos. My dinner guest, Tom Cosgrave, is a really hardworking and friendly photographer providing photographic and video services for real estate and rental properties. He also provides free marketing, video and photographic services to Liga MAC and The Los Cabos Youth Orchestra. Through his use of video marketing, he has brought innovation, a British, quirky sense of humor and bar setting standards to the Los Cabos property scene. Tom lives in Cabo Real with his two rescue dogs and he is a passionate supporter of animal welfare and Dementia / Alzheimer support groups. Tom provides stunning photos to realtors, rental agents and homeowners.
As a good neighbor and friend, I can personally state that his hobbies include getting injured when running and watching his football team in London lose most weeks. On a more serious note, I can personally recommend Tom for any of your real estate or rental needs. See a few of his photos below and contact details:
Blog: http://thecabochannel.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/videobythecabochannel
E-mail: info@thecabochannel.com
Contact me at email: akiba@bajabeat.com
Blog: bajabeat.com
Love cool quick lovely for summer. Raita’s also nice with a very Non-Hindu option…cold roast pork or chicken.
About that shrimp curry recipe (and the reason not to post it.) Long prep times don’t necessarily discourage people who like to cook. Well, ok…. ‘yes’ if if’s just ‘something for dinner’ but ‘not so much’ if you are making a special meal and part of the ‘special’ means ‘not thrown together at last minute’.) Bigger issue is that most people think an Indian restaurant can do it better, faster, cheaper. Hence, Indian take-out the world over. But given guest reaction, I’m officially curious. Can I have (recipe)?