Tandoori Shrimp

I haven’t quite mastered the art of the grill pan.

A wedding gift we got last year, my grill pan has seen many an attempt at mimicking the real thing—a charcoal grill. Since I can’t grill to save my life, I thought the grill pan would help out. If you’re unaware, a grill pan is just a pan with ribs that you place on your stovetop.

My problem comes when trying to get a good char without burning or undercooking the meat. I’ve found that chicken & shrimp have given me the most ease on the grill pan, where things like steak and burgers take a bit more effort.

I guess I should also mention I almost burned my apartment down using my grill pan the other day.

I was heating up the pan to grill some steaks, turned my back for a few seconds, and WHOOSH! Fire. It wasn’t actually the pan that went up in flames. The burner below it had a stray piece of Chex cereal (thanks holiday chex mix spree) that had caught fire. Oops.

If anyone has any tips or tricks about using grill pans—or about not starting a kitchen fire—PLEASE let me know! I love mine but have trouble with certain things…especially cleaning those suckers. It’s hard to scrape off the little leftover bits from in between the ribs.

I mentioned shrimp has been the easiest to cook on the grill pan. That’s probably because it takes no time to cook shrimp. I had some leftover skewers from when I made turkey kabobs a few months ago so I thought I would do a shrimp kabob. Garam masala was in my cabinet and an idea was born: Tandoori shrimp!

From Wikipedia:

Tandoori chicken is a chicken dish prepared by roasting chicken marinated in yoghurt and spices in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay oven. The dish originated from the Indian subcontinent and is popular in many other parts of the world.

I don’t have a cylindrical clay oven, so this recipe is a more Westernized version of the real thing. You still get all of the good spiciness from the turmeric and garam masala, and I added red food coloring to give it that traditional red tint. There’s also a mild sweetness from marinating the shrimp in yogurt and lime juice.

Enjoy!

Tandoori Shrimp

• Servings: 3-4
• Time: 1 hr 20 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Spicy, grilled shrimp with a Tandoori-style seasoning and marinade.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 2 drops red food coloring
• Wood or bamboo skewers, for kabobs
• Cilantro & lime, for serving

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, garlic, Garam Masala, chili powder, lime juice, salt, turmeric and food coloring. If you want a more red color, add another drop or two of food coloring.
2. Add shrimp to yogurt mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
3. Skewer shrimp (I used about 6 shrimp per skewer). Heat a little bit of oil on grill pan over medium heat. Cook shrimp skewers, about 2 minutes per side, until slightly charred and shrimp turns pink. Serve with lime wedges and cilantro.

Step-By-Step Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, garlic, Garam Masala, chili powder, lime juice, salt, turmeric and food coloring. If you want a more red color, add another drop or two of food coloring.

Add shrimp to yogurt mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.

Skewer shrimp (I used about 6 shrimp per skewer). Heat a little bit of oil on grill pan over medium heat. Cook shrimp skewers, about 2 minutes per side, until slightly charred and shrimp turns pink. Serve with lime wedges and cilantro.