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This Indian shrimp curry recipe combines tender shrimp with a creamy coconut curry sauce, warm spices, and a bright touch of lime. It’s savory, aromatic, and easy to adjust depending on how much heat you like.
This Indian shrimp curry makes an easy dinner served over cilantro lime rice or cilantro lime cauliflower rice. If you enjoy curry flavor, try my red curry shrimp recipe next (it uses Thai red curry paste).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Bold curry flavor: Warm spices, coconut milk, and lime make a rich, flavorful sauce.
- Quick to make: Shrimp cook fast, so this works well for an easy dinner.
- Easy to adjust: Keep it mild with bell peppers or add cayenne and hot peppers for more heat.
Ingredients Needed
Get the exact amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Shrimp: Use raw peeled and deveined shrimp. Frozen shrimp work too; just thaw and pat them dry first. Large prawns can be used the same way.
- Shallot and garlic: These create the savory base of the curry.
- Peppers: Optional. Use bell peppers for a milder curry or a hotter pepper if you want more heat.
- Curry spices: Curry powder, ground ginger, coriander, panch phoron, and optional cayenne give the sauce its warm flavor. Panch phoron is an Indian five-spice seed blend typically made with cumin, mustard, fenugreek, nigella, and fennel.
- Coconut milk: Use unsweetened canned coconut milk for the creamy curry sauce.
- Sauce seasonings: Fish sauce, brown sugar or a brown sugar substitute, and lime juice balance the sauce.
- Cooking fat: Coconut oil, butter, or ghee all work.
- For serving: Fresh cilantro and lime wedges are optional.
How to Make Indian Shrimp Curry
Soften the aromatics
Cook the shallot, garlic, and peppers until they soften and smell fragrant. You want them tender before building the curry sauce.
Bloom the spices
Stir in the curry powder, ginger, coriander, and panch phoron. Cook briefly until the spices become fragrant.
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Simmer the curry sauce
Stir in the coconut milk and remaining sauce ingredients. Let the sauce gently simmer so the flavors come together and it thickens slightly.
Cook the shrimp
Add the seasoned shrimp near the end so they stay tender. Cook just until they are pink and opaque, then finish with cilantro and fresh lime if you’d like.
What to Serve With Indian Shrimp Curry
The curry already has plenty of flavor, so I like keeping the rest of the meal simple.
- Rice dinner: Spoon the curry over cilantro lime rice and add air fryer green beans for an easy vegetable.
- Lower-carb meal: Serve it with cilantro lime cauliflower rice and sautéed spinach.
- Easy weeknight plate: Add rice and air fryer broccoli. The simple roasted broccoli lets the creamy curry sauce stay the star of the meal.
Swaps and Variations
- Adjust the heat: Use bell peppers and skip the cayenne for a milder curry. Add cayenne or hot peppers when you want more spice.
- Skip the peppers: They’re optional, so you can leave them out.
- Choose your sweetener: Regular brown sugar and a 1:1 brown sugar substitute both work well in the sauce.
- Make the low-carb version: Use a brown sugar substitute and serve with cilantro lime cauliflower rice. This also works well when you’re looking for a keto shrimp curry.
Storage
- Store: Keep leftover shrimp curry in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat: Warm it gently over low heat or in short microwave intervals so the shrimp stay tender.
FAQs
Yes. Thaw the shrimp completely and pat them dry before seasoning so excess moisture doesn’t thin the curry sauce.
It can be as mild or spicy as you like. Use bell peppers and omit the cayenne for a mild curry, or add hot peppers and cayenne for more heat.
Indian Shrimp Curry Recipe
Use DRDAVINAHS at checkout to save on some equipment & ingredients!
Ingredients
- 1 lb Shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ½ tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 cup Sliced Peppers, optional
- 1 large Shallot, optional
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp Curry Powder
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Ground Coriander
- ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper, optional
- 2 tsp Panch Phoron, or Indian Five Spice
- 13.6 oz Unsweetened Coconut Milk
- 3 tbsp Fish Sauce
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar, or 1:1 keto brown sugar substitute
- ½ tbsp Lime Juice
- 3 tbsp Coconut Oil, butter or ghee
- Cilantro and lime wedges to be served on the side
Instructions
- Season the shrimp: Season the shrimp with the salt and black pepper. Set aside.
- Cook the aromatics: Heat the coconut oil, butter, or ghee in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic, and peppers. Cook until softened.
- Bloom the spices: Stir in the curry powder, ground ginger, ground coriander, and panch phoron. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.
- Add the coconut milk: Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the cayenne, if using, followed by the coconut milk.
- Simmer the sauce: Stir in the fish sauce, brown sugar or substitute, and lime juice. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Cook the shrimp: Add the shrimp and cook for about 3 minutes, or until pink and opaque.
- Finish and serve: Top with fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges, if desired.
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Recipe Notes
- For a milder curry: Use bell peppers and leave out the cayenne.
- For more heat: Use Fresno or habanero peppers and add the cayenne.
- Sweetener: Regular brown sugar and a 1:1 brown sugar substitute both work well.
- Panch phoron: This Indian five-spice blend typically includes cumin, mustard, fenugreek, nigella, and fennel.
- Frozen shrimp: Thaw and pat dry before adding them to the recipe.
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used.
