Delicious and quick Indian Shrimp and Rice. Shrimp cooked in an Indian spiced marinara cream sauce and served over rice will be on the table in about 30 minutes.
For some reason, I feel like this dish was made for Friday nights and should be eaten from bowls while snuggled under blankets and watching a movie. Preferably with a cocktail, like this cucumber gimlet.
But, really, this shrimp and rice dish is great any night of the week, cooking up in under 30 minutes. One of the keys to getting this on the table quickly is to purchase pre-shelled and deveined shrimp, if you can find them. My market generally has a bag in the freezer section.
If you're using fresh shrimp that has not been shelled and deveined for you, that prep work will add another 10 minutes or so. Still, a pretty quick meal.
Why Does this Recipe Include Marinara Sauce?
Even though they aren't traditional in a strict sense of the word, tomatoes have played an important role in Indian cooking for the past several decades, showing up in curries, salads, sauces, and especially vegetarian dishes.
The use of tomatoes in Indian cooking makes sense when you think about it. For most of us, when we think of Indian curries, we think of spices and heat.
But, for most Indian dishes, acidic sour flavors are nearly as important as spice. Acidic ingredients give curries structure and have an incredible ability to brighten up all the other ingredients in the dish.
But marinara sauce? Well.... why not? Good marinara sauce is a much more flavorful way to add both sweetness and acidity to a dish than adding things like tomato paste or tomato sauce. And, when given the chance to add more flavor to a recipe, I'm usually going to take it.
There is nothing better than a big pot of homemade marinara.
Homemade marinara only takes about 15 minutes of hands-on time, but it needs to simmer for a couple of hours. The reward is exceptional - it not only tastes infinitely better than anything you can ever get from a jar, it will make your entire house smell like an Italian grandmother moved in and started cooking for you.
So, whenever possible, I encourage you to make a pot of homemade marinara for this Indian Shrimp and Rice.
More Recipes that use Homemade Marinara Sauce:
- Eggplant and/or Chicken Parmesan
- Homemade Pizza
- Meatball Sandwiches
- Homemade Meatballs and Marinara
- The {BEST} Classic Lasagna with Italian Sausage
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #alittleandalot on Instagram.
📖 Recipe
Indian Shrimp and Rice
Shrimp sauced in an Indian spiced marinara cream sauce and served over rice will be on the table in about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain rice
- ¼ cup plain, unsweetened yogurt
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3 teaspoon garam masala, divided
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 teaspoons of minced garlic, divided
- 1 ½ lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined, thawed if frozen
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup chopped scallions
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to the package instructions.
- Add the yogurt, cumin, paprika, 2 tsp of the garam masala, lime juice, salt, ground ginger, and 2 teaspoons of the garlic to a bowl and stir to mix. Add the shrimp and toss to coat all the shrimp completely in the sauce. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes, and up to 1 hour.
- Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan set over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the grated ginger, remaining clove of minced garlic, and remaining teaspoon of garam masala, and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more.
- Stir in the marinara sauce and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the shrimp and its marinade. Cover the saucepan and let sit for about 5 minutes to let the shrimp cook through. Test one of the shrimp for doneness - the exterior should be pink and the flesh will be slightly opaque and slightly white.
- Add the rice to a serving bowl. Spoon the shrimp over the rice, top with the chopped scallions, and serve.
Notes
Serving Suggestion:
Indian Shrimp and Rice is delicious served with dollops of homemade labneh
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
Christine says
What can I use in place of heavy cream? Sour cream? More yogurt?
RebeccaBlackwell says
Hi Christine! Sorry for the delay in responding to your question. You can absolutely use sour cream or more yogurt in place of the heavy cream. Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, if you make this, I'd love to hear what you think about it. xo
Ken says
This is the BEST Indian rice I've ever made. It's become a staple in my house. Thanks so much!