Avocado-Basil Rice with Spicy Shrimp

I love love love Rice. Its something that I have to have everyday. Every once in a while I make some kind of flavored rice. Be it a pulao or tomato or lemon - nothing is more satisfying to me than rice :)

Anyways fish or shrimp cooked in a lot of spices and some rice to go along with it was my staple food growing up...what with me being a Keralite. I love my seafood cooked in a lot of different ways but cooked with a lot of spices beats everything else hands down.

So I set out to make some spicy shrimp and to go with it, I try an avocado-basil flavored rice courtesy of Claire Robinson of Food Network.

Avocado-Basil Rice
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Ingredients :

1 cup basmati rice
1 small avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 lemon, juiced
3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups water
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste


Directions:

Wash and soak the rice for about 15 minutes. Bring the rice, 2 cups of water and salt to a boil. Recude the heat to medium and cover the pan. Cook until the water is completely absorbed and the rice is cooked. You should be able to separate the rice - make sure they dont end up being mushy.
Remove from heat and let stand, covered.

In the meantime, gring the avocado, basil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oil, and a littel water (1/4 cup) in the blender. It should be slightly thick so watch the water.

Fluff the rice with a fork and gently fold the avocaod-basil puree into the warm rice. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve it with your choice of spiced seafood or meat or veggies.


Spicy Shrimp
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Ingredients :

1.5 Tbs olive oil
2 cups shrimp - peeled and deveined
1 small red onion finely chopped
1 small tomato finely chopped
2-3 small green chillies chopped
1 small bunch cilantro finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
pinch of black pepper powder
salt to taste


Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion until well done. Be careful not to burn them. Now add the tomato, green chili and fry for 2 minutes. Add all the spices and a little water and cook for 2 minutes until the gravy thickens. Add the shrimp, cilantro and salt - cover and cook making sure that the gracy is thick - not dry and not too thin.

Once th shrimp is cooked cover and let is rest for a few minutes. Serve with the rice.

If the spices are a little too much to your taste or if you have a weak stomach you might want to go easy on the green chili and avoid the black pepper. But if you have to have it spicy but still cant handle it then I suggest you make sure you have a cup of plain yogurt to with your rice and shrimp.

Tips: This recipe also works well with paneer if you want to go vegetarian. You could also try it with potatoes or cauliflower. Be sure to add some green bell peppers for the crunch.

bon appetit !!!