Curry Spiced Shrimp and Rice

Here's another recipe I filed that we haven't tried yet. There's a reason I saved it though! It's fairly quick and easy, and what's not to love about shrimp and curry? I'm sure we'd love leftovers, but I'm scaling this down to serve 2. Feel free to double or triple it if you want.

Curry Spiced Shrimp and Rice

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1-2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 8 ounces large shrimp, peeled
• 1/2-1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley or cilantro leaves

Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onion and carrots, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper, until tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and curry powder and stir for another minute. Add the rice and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper to taste, then nestle in the partially cooked rice. Scatter the peas over the top, cover and cook until the shrimp is opaque and the rice is tender, about 5 minutes more. Fold in the parsley and serve.

If desired, serve with raita - an Indian-inspired sauce. Combine plain Greek yogurt, chopped cucumber, fresh lime juice, ground cumin and chopped cilantro or mint. 

Since there wasn't a cucumber in the refrigerator, we skipped the raita. However, plain sour cream worked, and so did chutney. While we prefer our regular curry recipe, this was a nice alternative. I liked the fact that the rice cooked in curry-flavored water. Besides, isn't this pretty and festive? 

Before and after cooking the shrimp.