Shrimp Masala, Black Pepper Cumin Rice with Cashews

My oldest daughter has once again decided she wants to go semi vegetarian. She still will eat shrimp though. About a week ago I visited our local Indian market on 13th Street named Best Foods and picked up a variety of spices. The selection was amazing. I found this cooking show on our local MPTV PBS that had these two recipes featured Shrimp Masala and the Black Pepper Cumin rice. The thing about Indian cooking is the sheer amount of spices can be overwhelming. The best thing to do is have your spices ready ahead of time. Also it can be a bit more hectic when preparing two dishes at once. I purchased some ready made Basmati rice and then added the ingredients in a wok and heated it though. Also I used frozen uncooked shrimp. We don't have many fresh fish markets here. The dish still turned out great.

Shrimp Masala

1 Tbsp. oil
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 diced onion
1/4 cup diced roma tomatoes
4-5 cloves of garlic
2 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper and cumin powder
1 lb. shrimp uncooked, shells off, and deveined
1/4 cup cilantro chopped

Start in a large frying pan heating the oil and adding the cinnamon stick, turmeric,  and cumin seeds and powder.Cook on low heat until the spices are fragrant. Remove the cinnamon stick and add the onion, tomato, garlic ginger. Stir fry for a few minutes more. Add the tomato sauce, water, salt, black pepper and simmer for another few minutes. Lastly add the shrimp and cook in the sauce until light pink in color. Serve with cilantro on the top and the cashew rice on the side.

Black Pepper and Cumin Rice

2 cups cooked Basmati rice
1 TBSP canola oil
1/4  tsp. curry powder
1 dried chili pepper our you could use fresh
1 stp black mustard seeds
1 tsp. urad dal (lentils)
1/2 cup onion diced
1 tsp. black pepper and cumin powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup dry roasted cashews

Add the dry spices and urad dal to the oil along with the nuts. stir fry until the mustard seeds pop and the spices become fragrant. Add the onion and stir fry for one minute. Add the rice and combine. Serve with the Masala or alone.