Easy Instant Pot Coconut Shrimp Curry Instant Pot

This is one of the easiest Indian shrimp recipes to make when you want to impress someone and have less time to cook. The second reason also makes it a perfect dish for a weekday in just 20 minutes. While the curry was cooking, I cooked white rice on the stovetop (can be done in a second instant pot or rice cooker), and dinner was served in no time. You can make this curry with shrimp or prawns. You might have heard that shrimp and prawn are the same and are often used interchangeably. But that’s NOT true. They do taste and look similar but are very different structurally. The word “prawn” is more frequently used on menus in the UK and India, whereas, in North America, people widely use the word ”shrimp.” If you like Indian coconut-based curries, check out my Coconut Chicken Curry and Coconut Chickpea Curry recipes! Are you ready for this delicious Shrimp Curry? Let’s get started!

Watch How to Make Coconut Shrimp Curry

Ingredients

Shrimp: Use tail-on, peeled, and deveined jumbo or extra-large shrimp. Make sure you use raw shrimp. I used frozen. Aromatics: Onion, ginger, and garlic. You can use red or yellow onion. Use freshly minced ginger and garlic (this is definitely preferred) or a readymade ginger-garlic paste. Herbs: Cilantro and green chili. These add immense aroma and flavor to this recipe. Spices: This recipe calls for only a few spices: mustard seeds, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, garam masala, and salt. You can use my recipe to make your own garam masala. Mustard seeds are used for tempering and provide an earthy flavor. Tomatoes: Use fresh red plump tomatoes, but you can use canned ones too. Oil: Use an oil with a high smoking point, like – sunflower, avocado, or corn oil. Coconut Milk: Use thick, full-fat coconut milk of your choice. Lime/ Lemon Juice: A little drizzle of lime juice on the final dish will help to round out the flavors.

How to make Coconut Shrimp Curry in the Pressure Cooker?

The main thing to note in this recipe is that Shrimp cooks very quickly, so we will use the low-pressure setting in the electric pressure cooker (instant pot, in my case). We will cook the shrimp for 3 minutes on low pressure and then quick release the pressure manually to get perfectly cooked shrimp. I used tail-on deveined large raw frozen shrimp that I got from Costco. If you use smaller shrimp, decrease the cooking time. The base of this curry is the same as many other Indian curries, with ginger, garlic, onions, and tomatoes. I also add basic spices, which you will have in your pantry if you have done Indian cooking before. I add coconut milk to the curry to give it a creamier texture. Use full-fat coconut milk for the best results. You can also use heavy cream in place of coconut milk if you don’t need to keep the curry dairy-free. That said, even with the very simple preparation, this curry is so flavorful with shrimp, similar to my shrimp masala recipe. This is a must-try! Garnish with some lime juice and cilantro, and enjoy over rice!

Stovetop Method

Follow the same steps as in the instant pot method to saute the aromatics in a pan on medium-high heat. Then, add the coconut milk and shrimp to the pot. Stir well and cook the curry for 5-7 minutes until the shrimp is just cooked. Garnish with cilantro and lime juice. Doesn’t the curry look gorgeous? I am ready to eat this again; it is so easy to make!

How to Store?

You can refrigerate leftover shrimp masala for 2-3 days. Simply microwave or heat in a pan with a splash of water on a stovetop or microwave before eating.

How to Serve?

This shrimp curry goes well with rice, especially Basmati rice, jeera rice, or vegetable biryani, but steamed plain rice also tastes equally good. You can also serve a simple kachumber salad and raita on the side to balance out the meal. Looking for more seafood recipes? Check out this delicious Salmon Tikka Masala and Shrimp Biryani. Want to find easy Instant Pot Indian Recipes? Here are 23 Best Instant Pot Indian Recipes for you to try!