Traditional Gujarati Shrimp pickle

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

   Thought I'd post this here. 
I'd never come across a shrimp pickle before, but it's seriously good stuff.

We've got indian neighbours and engage in almost constant food exchanges. We give them cakes, jams, lemon curd, fruit etc and they tend to give us chapatis (though I now make my own) curry and the odd pickle. 

Was round there the other day and tried some shrimp pickle. Hot, but really good. 

Made sure next time shanti made it I got invited round to write the process up. 

So for starters here's the original recipe. I intend to make a batch of my own, but with smoked fresh chillis rather than chilli powder. That will have pictures attached.

So here's the original recipe.

Shrimp Pickle - 100%  authentic indian recipe. 

350gms to 454gms of cooked peeled prawns/shrimp - the smallest and cheapest you can buy. Don't think you're being clever by buying larger prawns. In this case: Smallest = bestest
The prawns are the bulk of the pickle and you can't spread large prawns 

Juice of 3 limes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
3.5 tsp red chilli powder (final pickle is pretty hot - you might want to start with 2 tsp)
.5 tsp Asafoetida
.5 cup olive oil, sunflower or rapeseed - Basically any kind of fairly neutral oil will do
1.5 tsp fenugreek

Marinate the prawns in the lime juice, salt, turmeric and chilli powder. 
Stick in to marinate about 20 mins before heating the oil. 

In a medium sized saucepan, add the oil and heat untill a fenugreek seed sizzles.
Add rest of fenugreek and cook fora few minutes till browned. 
Add the shrimp mix and asafoetida (you might want to do this carefully and stand back). 

Cook on a fairly strong boil for about 20 minutes with the saucepan lid half on - or remover lid and place splash guard over saucepan - it's either that or risk ending up with a yellow cooker top.
After 20 mins turn down to a simmer until the mixture is very much reduced. About 30-50 mins.

Store in jars and refrigerate - will keep for about one-and-a-half weeks in the refrigerator. 

Shanti always adds a little extra oil to the jars to help it keep. Not sure this is necessary, but it's in the original recipe :-)

First time I had this stuff,  I ended up polishing off about 1/4 a jar with half a dozen chapatis. Can't remember why I'd gone round - but no matter what it is, food generally gets eaten :-) 

Great neighbours

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
curious aardvark Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Cook's Assistant Joined: 19 March 2010 Location: central england Status: Offline Points: 22	Post Options Post Reply Quote curious aardvark Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Traditional Gujarati Shrimp pickle Posted: 28 August 2011 at 11:21
	Thought I'd post this here. I'd never come across a shrimp pickle before, but it's seriously good stuff. We've got indian neighbours and engage in almost constant food exchanges. We give them cakes, jams, lemon curd, fruit etc and they tend to give us chapatis (though I now make my own) curry and the odd pickle. Was round there the other day and tried some shrimp pickle. Hot, but really good. Made sure next time shanti made it I got invited round to write the process up. So for starters here's the original recipe. I intend to make a batch of my own, but with smoked fresh chillis rather than chilli powder. That will have pictures attached. So here's the original recipe. Shrimp Pickle - 100% authentic indian recipe. 350gms to 454gms of cooked peeled prawns/shrimp - the smallest and cheapest you can buy. Don't think you're being clever by buying larger prawns. In this case: Smallest = bestest The prawns are the bulk of the pickle and you can't spread large prawns Juice of 3 limes 1 tsp salt 1 tsp turmeric 3.5 tsp red chilli powder (final pickle is pretty hot - you might want to start with 2 tsp) .5 tsp Asafoetida .5 cup olive oil, sunflower or rapeseed - Basically any kind of fairly neutral oil will do 1.5 tsp fenugreek Marinate the prawns in the lime juice, salt, turmeric and chilli powder. Stick in to marinate about 20 mins before heating the oil. In a medium sized saucepan, add the oil and heat untill a fenugreek seed sizzles. Add rest of fenugreek and cook fora few minutes till browned. Add the shrimp mix and asafoetida (you might want to do this carefully and stand back). Cook on a fairly strong boil for about 20 minutes with the saucepan lid half on - or remover lid and place splash guard over saucepan - it's either that or risk ending up with a yellow cooker top. After 20 mins turn down to a simmer until the mixture is very much reduced. About 30-50 mins. Store in jars and refrigerate - will keep for about one-and-a-half weeks in the refrigerator. Shanti always adds a little extra oil to the jars to help it keep. Not sure this is necessary, but it's in the original recipe :-) First time I had this stuff, I ended up polishing off about 1/4 a jar with half a dozen chapatis. Can't remember why I'd gone round - but no matter what it is, food generally gets eaten :-) Great neighbours
	Beware the slings of outrageous fortune (bows and arrows are for wimps ;-)

Sponsored Links

TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9389	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 August 2011 at 11:35
	this looks like it will be some really good stuff, alex! looking forward to seeing how it goes down. please feel free to post a few pix!
	If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!

curious aardvark Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Cook's Assistant Joined: 19 March 2010 Location: central england Status: Offline Points: 22	Post Options Post Reply Quote curious aardvark Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 August 2011 at 11:44
	I will when I've got them - didn't take any when shanti was making it, but I'll document my own - just got to smoke the chillis and I'm good to go :-) Like a a lot of indian pickles - it's pretty unprepossessing to look at - but seriously tasty :-) One thing that is worth mentioning. Indians tend to have stupidly hot curries. Now next door most of them prefer warm curries, except dillip who eats pickled birdseye chillies as a light snack and like his curries just shy of nuclear. So most of the curry etc is cooked to his tastes. Us westerners tend to eat bowls of curry with the odd bit of rice and bread. The indians get round the heat of a curry by doing the opposite. They only eat small amounts of curry, bulking it up with large amounts of flatbread and rice. They also mix yoghurt in with it to reduce the heat if needed. And tend to have yoghurt drinks on hand as well. Milk and yoghurt are what you drink to reduce the effect of chilli - Never ! carbonated drinks (this will make things worse). So dillip tends to eat the curries neat and everyone else dilutes with yoghurt, rice and chapatis. I can eat this pickle neat - you might not be able to. That said watching shanti measure out 3.5 tsp of chilli powder. We're talking very heaped tsps. I reckon it was actually about 6 level tsps chilli powder. So using 3.e reasonable tsps should make it hot but not super hot. I'm planning on using 3 - 4 finely chopped smoked red chillis in my first batch. (currently growing in the greenhouse. )
	Beware the slings of outrageous fortune (bows and arrows are for wimps ;-)

curious aardvark Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Cook's Assistant Joined: 19 March 2010 Location: central england Status: Offline Points: 22	Post Options Post Reply Quote curious aardvark Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27 October 2011 at 10:12
	Okay just posted the full thread over at smoked-meat.com But you will need to be a member to see the pictures. I'll try and upload some here. Okay here are the ingredients. The hardboil after you've added the shrimp mix to the hot oil. Mixture fully reduced before putting in jars. In jars - will keep for 1-2 weeks in the fridge - ignore what I said in original thread. It goes mouldy if you don't frdige it. And finally on some bread - this stuff is really good. But stick to the original recipe and don't use fresh chillis like I did as they are just not hot enough.
	Beware the slings of outrageous fortune (bows and arrows are for wimps ;-)

TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9389	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27 October 2011 at 10:18
	hey, alex - that does look like beautiful stuff! i'll go ahead and modify your original post regarding the refrigeration ~ no worries! great job on some good looking stuff!
	If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!

curious aardvark Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Cook's Assistant Joined: 19 March 2010 Location: central england Status: Offline Points: 22	Post Options Post Reply Quote curious aardvark Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27 October 2011 at 12:11
	Actually the other thing that makes this stuff very unusual - particularly for indian cuisine is the fact that you only use 4 spices & salt. Normally indians use a whole load of spices as well as masalas - ready made spice mixes. This stuff is really simple and definitely benefits from it :-) And it's as authentic as it gets. Shanti watched someone make it in india, I watched her make it and it's unlikely anyone else has ever written it down. It's just been passed from one cook to another the old fashioned way.
	Beware the slings of outrageous fortune (bows and arrows are for wimps ;-)