Jamaican crab curry (A recipe from Climbing Grier Mountain)

Lauren from Climbing Grier Mountain posted this recipe online yesterday. It took me 27 hours to make it happen.

Also, if you haven't done so already after seeing this picture of amazeballissimo deliciousness, go check her blog out!

PS: I am slowly getting back into my kitchen after taken 3 weeks vacation. I am editing a recipe at the moment, and will shoot another one or two tomorrow. Can't wait to start posting again!

Ras el hanout - Moroccan spice blend

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground allspice (I only had berries, so I ground them with a pestle and mortar)
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves

RECIPE:
- don't blink, you might miss it...
- ready?
- mix everything together!

Malaysian shrimp with curry leaves, tamarind and jasmine rice

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking for a shrimp recipe. Something new. Something different. Something I'd never come across before. I found this mouth-watering malaysian recipe online which I immediately decided to try. I tweaked it a bit: used frozen shrimp without the heads, replaced fresh chillies with pepper flakes and added green onions. It was so good I'm sharing it with you here :) Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb raw large shrimp, shell-on (next time, I'll use fresh whole shrimp with heads, it should give it an amazing taste!)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons oil
- leaves from 4 sprigs of curry leaves
- a sprinkle of red pepper flakes (or a few fresh bird's eye chillies -if you can take that kind of heat-, chopped)
- 4 small shallots, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate (if you can't find it in stores, you can make your own -here's my recipe-)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 cups jasmine rice
- 3 cups of water

RECIPE
- bring the water to a boil and add the rice. lower the heat and cover. cook for 15 minutes exactly.
- during this time, pat dry the shrimp and sprinkle with salt.
- heat 3 tbsp of oil in a wok.

- add salted shrimp and curry leaves and fry until shrimp changes color and gets slightly golden. They should not be completely cooked at that stage, they will cook again later. 

- Reserve in a bowl.

- add the remaining tbsp of oil in the wok and saute the shallots, garlic and pepper for one minute.

- add the reserved shrimp and leaves, turmeric, sugar and tamarind concentrate.

- stir fry for a few minutes to cook the turmeric and finish cooking the shrimp. Reserve in a bowl.

- serve over perfectly cooked jasmine rice, and sprinkle with sliced green onions.

- Bon app'!