Tasty Thursday - Shrimp and Rice with Herbs
What do you want for dinner? Do you get that too? It is so very frustrating. Especially when trying to come up with a special dinner, say for a birthday. Nothing I suggested for Megan did she care for, but at the same time, didn't give me any ideas of what she wants for her dinner. Ugghhh.
So, I came up with a few ideas found on Pinterest and made her decide. She does like. Middle Eastern food, so I started there for something different. She also likes shrimp and seafood. After rejecting the first couple, she was mildly interested in this recipe.
As it turns out, this is more Persian than Middle Eastern. Oops.
Shrimp and Rice with Herbs (Meygoo Polo)
1 cup Basmati rice rinsed (or brown rice)
½ cup brown basmati rice rinsed (or white rice)
½ cup quinoa or white/brown rice
1 teaspoon salt adjust as needed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion large, chopped
4 cloves garlic large
1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes adjust to taste
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup cilantro chopped
½ cup dill chopped
½ cup green onions chopped
¼ cup fenugreek leaves chopped or ¾ tablespoon dried
1 pound raw shrimp cleaned and deveined
2 tablespoons lemon juice
⅓ teaspoon saffron powdered and dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
Instructions
COOK RICE
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Bring 3¼ cups water to a boil. Add ⅔ teaspoon salt and 1½ tablespoons olive oil. Add the brown rice first. Lower the heat, place a lid and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
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Then add quinoa and white basmati rice to the same pot. Cover and let it all simmer till the grains are well done (approx. additional 20 minutes).Tip: If you are not sure of the cooking times for rice and quinoa, then check instructions below for cooking them separately.
COOK SHRIMP
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Heat 1½ tablespoons olive oil at medium setting in a cooking pot. Add chopped onions and sauté few minutes.
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Then add grated garlic and continue to sauté until the onions are light golden brown. Add sliced red bell pepper and sauté. Next, add shrimp and sauté for a minute.
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Then add curry powder, red pepper flakes, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, ⅓ teaspoon salt, the herbs, and stir it all.
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It should need only a total of 4 to 5 minutes, until the shrimp start changing color and curl a little bit. Pick out the shrimp and set it aside. Tip: Do not over cook the shrimp.
ASSEMBLE SHRIMP AND RICE
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Place the rice-quinoa mixture with the sautéed onion-herbs mixture in several alternating layers in a heavy bottomed cooking pot. Sprinkle lemon juice and saffron water over the final layer.
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Raise the heat to medium high for about 10 minutes and then reduce it to low setting and simmer for about 20 minutes or more until the steam builds up well. Once the rice is ready, turn off the heat.
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Gently serve the rice in a serving dish and arrange the shrimp all over. Garnish with fresh herbs.
This recipe really did take a while to make so be prepared for that. This dish reminded us of paella. The rice on the bottom of the pot was a little crunchy brown, but not burned. Just the way paella should be.
I actually did use all the different grains, brown rice, basmati rice and quinoa. Shocker for me. We didn't feel the brown rice made much difference, but we did like the quinoa in this dish.
My family would want me to make it again. Megan did enjoy her birthday dinner after all.
Click here to see the original recipe. The blog does have some additional notes after the recipe you may want to check out.
Until next time...Stampin' Always,
Cheryl, HomeStyle Stamper
