20 Minute Tomato Garlic Peppery Shrimp with Lemon Pilaf

This juicy, tangy, spicy, and sweet 20 minute tomato garlic peppery shrimp is so easy and delicious.  It’s perfect for entertaining, or for a weeknight meal.

Here’s how parties I threw looked like years ago.  Plan.  Plan for it for weeks.  Write a list down, and shop.  Make two to three desserts a day ahead, and have an array of dishes.  Then came dressing up the room, flowers, and making sure everything is flawless.  The morning of: you see your husband put his feet up on the coffee table to relax.  You look at him, like “really, please can you help around..?”  I turn on the music and start cooking, and start getting excited for the evening.  I was on constant edge if I saw the kids mess the countertop, or left their shoes on my polished floors.  Two hours before everyone arrives, the home looks like a model home, no smell of cooked meals, everything is neatly stored, flowers are smiling brightly.  I light up my candles, put in some drops of orange essential oil in my aromatherapy diffuser, and sit down with a glass of wine, happily.

Here’s how a party looks like now…It’s going to be a small get together, an impromptu one that I planned just a week ago.

I tell hubby we have company on Saturday, and he asks if there’s something he needs to shop or help around with. I smile back, thankful for his help.

A couple of days before the day, I mentally catalog what I have at the house. And… not much. A whole chicken and a whole tray of tiger shrimp in the freezer. Pantry staples and herbs, which I always have.

I calculate the amount of time I will have between the morning and when I told people to arrive. I have at least six hours to go.  I head out for lunch and on my way back, get a few flowers, fruits, and some cheese for a cheese board.

As I get home, I quickly marinate the shrimp and chicken, and I soak the rice for a pulao.  I was glad to have some naan dough from last evening.  I whip up my easiest German Cake, it goes into a hot oven.  While the cake bakes, I make the rice, the chicken goes in the oven, and the shrimp waits to be grilled until dinner is served.  I set out the cheese platter, look around to a clean home (thanks to hubby). I pour a glass of wine and sit down to take a breather and take a bite of the aged goat cheese with some homemade crackers and smile at myself.

Friends arrive with the prettiest Dahlias.  I give them the tightest hugs and put the flowers in a vase and pour them some wine, refilling mine.  We chat away with twinkling lights from the candles.

Still perfect.  But, less stressed.

Then you EAT.

This is an easy shrimp that takes minutes to prepare.  You can grill them while dinner is being served, and it cooks up so quickly.  It’s perfect just hot off the grill/oven.

Tomato Garlic Peppery Shrimp

The shrimp is marinated with tomato paste, garlic, and pepper.  Shrimp really doesn’t need a lot to make it flavorful.  A few simple ingredients, and you have the juiciest shrimp ever.  The best thing is to grill them or bake them on a grilling baking rack.  That way, it cooks evenly from the bottom too.  Serve it immediately with some rice.

This Tomato Garlic Peppery Shrimp with Lemon Pilaf seems like quite a fancy meal, but it takes no time at all.  For this pilaf, I toast the rice very well until it almost turns golden brown, and then I cook it with vegetable stock.  The flavors are added at the end.

Tomato Garlic Pepper Shrimp with Lemon Pilaf

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Juicy, tangy, spicy and sweet 20 minute tomato garlic peppery shrimp is easy and delicious. This 30 minute meal that is perfect for entertaining or for a weeknight meal.

Author: Ash

Recipe type: Lunch, Dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the SHRIMP:

• 20 large shrimp, deveined and leave the tails on(clean well and put 5 per skewer)
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 6-8 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 3 tbsp oil, vegetable oil or any flavorless oil

Lemon Pilaf

• 2 tbsp extra virgin oil (or butter)
• 3 garlic clove , minced
• 1½ cups white rice , long grain (uncooked), i use basmati
• 2 cups vegetable broth(very good quaity, unsalted)
• 1 cup water or coconut water
• 1 medium lemon (1 tsp zest + 2 tsp lemon juice)
• 3 tbsp finely chives
• 1 tsp salt, make sure your broth is not salted, if it is, don't add too much salt.
• pepper

Instructions

SHRIMP:

1. Soak the skewers in cold water for 2-3 hours.
2. Skewer the shrimp, about 5 pieces per skewer. Set aside.
3. In a small bottle, add the tomato paste, garlic, red chili powder, black pepper, brown sugar and salt. Add the oil and mix is well.
4. Brush the sauce liberally on the shrimp and let it marinate for about 20 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Heat up the stove top griddle or heat up the oven to 450 degerees. Brush the griddle or the baking rack with oil. Let it get hot. Cook the shrimp until it is fully cooked. I cooked my shrimp in the oven for about 8-10 minutes and until it got a good char.

LEMON PILAF

1. In a flat bottomed wide mouth pan, add the oil. Add the rice and toast it on medium heat for 3 minutes or until it is lightly golden brown. Take it out of the stove and wash it well. Boil the vegetable stock and water. Put the washed rice in the pan, back on the stove, and add the boiling liquid. Add some salt and let it come to a boil again. Turn down the heat to medium low and cover, cook. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes before opening it. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, chives,pepper and mix well.

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Have a great long weekend!! Happy Memorial Day!

*Please do tag me on Instagram @foodfashionparty if you make this, using the hashtag #foodfashionparty.  Check out my book MASALA AND MEATBALLS.

Stay in touch for more delicious food on Instagram and Pinterest. Follow on Snapchat (@ashfoodfashion) for daily doses of food.**