Curried Shrimp and Crab Gumbo
Arvinder Vilkhu is chef of Saffron Nola, the New Orleans Indian restaurant he owns with his family. Mr. Vilkhu developed this gumbo recipe over the 30-plus years he’s lived in New Orleans, incorporating curry leaves, fresh ginger and other ingredients and spices from his native India. At the restaurant, Mr. Vilkhu places the black pepper, cilantro and scallions in the bottom of the bowl to serve, and the pours the gumbo over them, which he believes keeps the flavors of the ingredients sharp.
- Total:
- Serves: 4 persons
Ingredients
- ¾cup vegetable oil
- 1cup all-purpose flour
- 1medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1small green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2celery stalks, finely chopped
- 2tablespoons minced garlic
- 2tablespoons minced ginger
- 6cups homemade shrimp stock or store-bought seafood stock
- 3medium tomatoes, crushed in a food mill, or 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 2sprigs curry leaves (about 15 leaves)
- 2dried bay leaves
- 1teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 ½teaspoons kosher salt
- ½teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder or ground cayenne
- 1pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
- ¼pound blue lump crab meat (about 3/4 cup), or use other lump crab meat
- Cracked black pepper, for serving
- ½cup chopped cilantro stems and leaves, for serving
- ½cup chopped scallions, for serving
- Steamed rice, for serving
Instructions
Step 1
Make the roux: In a large pot, heat the oil over medium until just short of smoking, 3 to 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the oil, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring almost constantly, until the roux is the color of milk chocolate, 15 to 20 minutes.Step 2
Add the onion, bell pepper and celery to the roux. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.Step 3
Stir in the stock, crushed tomatoes, curry leaves (discard the stems), bay leaves, turmeric and thyme, along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon chile powder. Bring the gumbo to a boil over high heat. Once the mixture boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the flavors meld, skimming the skin that forms on the surface, about 1 hour.Step 4
Season the shrimp with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon chile powder. Stir the shrimp into the gumbo and cook until shrimp is pink and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Stir in the crab meat and adjust the seasoning as necessary.Step 5
Crack black pepper into empty soup bowls, then divide the cilantro and scallions among the bowls. Add a scoop of steamed rice to each bowl then ladle the gumbo on top to serve.