A shrimp curry, born in Bengal, moves to Mumbai

Oh, dear reader! How many of you must have returned disappointed from my site over the past several months, thinking I have abandoned my blog!

I owe you an apology. I haven't written a single post during this period.

For I have relocated. This blog originated as Cooking in Calcutta, but I now make my home in Mumbai, where I moved in late June to take up a new job. This move has been a tectonic shift or me and my blog. After I moved, this blog lost its sense of place, of mooring.

Yet, this blog must go on, for it's about Bengali food, which, like any other cuisine, is not bound by geographical boundaries. I cook Bengali food now in Mumbai.

Here is a recipe for something I cooked recently. A shrimp curry, home-style:

Ingredients

1/2 pound shrimp, medium-sized, shelled and de-veined
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium-sized potato, diced small (1/4 inch)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/3 tsp red chilli powder
salt, to taste
1 cup water

Method

1. Saute shrimp in vegetable oil for a couple of minutes. Remove and keep warm.
2. Saute onion for three minutes, until softened and just beginning to brown.
3. Add potato and saute for another three minutes
4. Add the spices and salt, and stir-fry for another minute.
5. Pour in the water, and let cook, covered for 10 minutes, or until the potato is tender.
6. Mix in the reserved shrimp, and continue cooking another 2 minutes.
7. Serve hot with steamed, long-grained rice.

If you do try the recipe, let me know how the curry turned out. The recipe comes from my 73-year-old mother, who still lives in Calcutta. I hope this recipe will make up for my long absence.