Shrimpfest Saturday!

I'm thinking shrimp today. Don't know why, but I am. I'm allowed to, right?
     In Bengali cuisine, there are multiple mouth-watering recipes for चिंगरी, chingri, or shrimp. "Gauldaa chingri" or prawns or big shrimp has its own flavor and recipes from simple shrimp curry in tumeric, ginger and cumin to steamed shrimp in mustard sauce, or shrimp in coconut milk are dreams that memories are made up of. These are like the gold standard recipes of Bengali cooking, will share them with you in a bit, but today I thought of sharing a North Indian recipe, with my twist to it. Meanwhile, drool at this fish in mustard sauce, will you? Recipe to follow when I feel like making it again, okay?

     By the way, if you live in the US, have you checked out shrimp? Not checked out in that way, you weirdo, but just compared them to those at the fish markets in Kolkata and Delhi? Let me tell you, they just don't compare. Really. Shrimp in the US, while fun to cook, don't really have the flavor you get in India. I have no idea why, and if you do, do let me know. But we still use US shrimp, don't we? We complain, and yet we do it...oy.
     Regardless, being a fish foodie, I've twisted a traditional तंदूरी tandoori recipe using shrimp instead of chicken as an appetizer. A tandoor, or clay oven, is almost impossible to find, though there are multiple companies selling tandoori masala or paste. I like the one from Rajah, I think it is a British company, and the flavor is as close to the Delhi dhaaba (road-side food stalls) tandoori food as it gets. If you don't have that, try any tandoori paste, and let's see the results. I'm just a bit skeptical of the food coloring in them, so, making one's own tandoori paste is also an option. Anyway, use the paste and maybe a cast iron pan or tava for high-heat cooking. It may not be authentic tandoori, but it's close. You can substitute shrimp for chicken or fish too, if you want.
     Here's my recipe for home-made tandoori paste. Remember, it's mine, and it could be completely different from someone else's, so, don't sue me. I don't add food coloring, and it works for me. You can modify it and make it yours, how's that?
Home-made Tandoori paste
Ingredients
4 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves, powdered
1/2 tsp cardamom, powdered
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 medium onion
1 cup yogurt
Recipe: Blend the ingredients. Slow cook on medium fire. Use as paste on fish, chicken, or paneer. Store remaining in airtight container in the fridge (4 weeks or so).
  And now, for Tandoori Shrimp (for ~7-10 people)
Ingredients
50 medium shrimp, cooked, de-veined
6 cloves garlic, grated
4 tbsp whole milk yogurt
1 medium serrano pepper, diced
4-5 tbsp tandoori paste
1 medium green bell pepper (capsicum)
1/2 cup white onions
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
salt to taste
lime juice (optional)
Recipe:

• Mix the tandoori paste, with 3 cloves garlic, yogurt, and 1 tbsp oil and serrano with the shrimp in a big bowl. Coat the shrimp liberally, and use more paste if needed. Cover the bowl in the fridge for about 10-20 minutes.
• On a तवा tava, heat the rest of the oil, add the garlic, sliced onions, and bell peppers. Once the peppers slightly brown, add the rest of the garlic. Saute some more.
• Add the shrimp to the hot tava, and cook for about 5-10 minutes.
• Don't overcook the shrimp, unless you like to chew on rubber bands.
• Serve on a platter with naan. Squirt some lime juice if you want on the shrimp right before eating.

Note: Make this appetizer fresh. Limp shrimp doesn't cut it.

 Enjoy!