Shrimp Pickle Appetizer

makes 10 appetizers

Truth be told, I ate so much of the Shrimp Pickle Appetizer as I was photographing it, so what you see is one of the last ones in the photo. This is based on my mom’s recipe for shrimp pickle which I used to devour. And by devour, I mean eat it like a glutton. She made it like a curry that could be eaten with the chappati bread or with  warm fluffy rice! I thickened the curry with some besan flour to use it as an appetizer. So the ‘curry’ is  thick enough to stick the veggies in.

The shrimp pickle is not for the faint hearted- it is spicy, just like most of the Indian pickles are. So with all the colorful, tender veggies out in the spring, I wanted to try juxtaposing the pickle with the veggies. They cut down on the heat and went very well with the shrimp.It also makes us feel good that we have eaten our vegetables for the day:) I used the prebaked, ready to fill phyllo shells which add the crispy crunch to the dish.

I served the pickle at room temperature but it can be made the day before and refrigerated too. I am sure that your guests will love it…….only problem is not eating it before your guests arrive:)

Ingredients

• ½ pound (about 10 medium sized shrimp) cleaned and deveined
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1½ teaspoon pickle masala, divided
• 1 clove of garlic, grated
• ¼ inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• sea salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon besan or chick pea flour
• 1 teaspoon oil
• ¾teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 1/8 teaspoon asafetida or hing powder
• 1 teaspoon dried tamarind pods, soaked in ¼ cup warm water to extract the pulp
• prebaked phyllo cups and veggies to serve

To make the shrimp pickle-

1. To the cleaned shrimp, add the turmeric powder,1 teaspoon of the pickle masala, the grated garlic , ginger and the sea salt. Set it aside to marinate for a few minutes.
2. Dredge the shrimp in the besan flour.
3. In a separate pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and the asafetida powder. When it sizzles, add the ½ teaspoon of pickle masala and stir for a brief second. Add the shrimp and stir fry it until opaque.
4. Add the tamarind pulp along with the soaking water ,stir and let the shrimp cook, about 2 to 3 minutes longer.
5. Adjust the salt, if needed and remove from heat. Let it cool to room temperature.

   

6. Serve along with the veggies in the phyllo cups.

   

Hope you enjoy munching on them as much as I did! I am taking this Shrimp Pickle appetizer to the fun fiesta  at Angie ‘s at her new site FiestaFriday.net. Congratulations Angie and I hope you feel better soon. It is co hosted by Margie and Selma. Thank you ladies!

Love,

Sandhya