Stir fried butternut squash with spicy grilled shrimp.

Well, I should have posted about mother's day, etc, etc. For starters I actually did not cook much this weekend and also ended up with a mixed bag over the weekend.
Let me see, had a fight with my husband, mixed up a fun party invite, thought it was Sunday when it was actually Saturday day - I did have a decent dinner on Saturday, for some reason I decided to stretch my luck and go out for lunch on Sunday as well. I am recovering from my son's lunchtime performance. I shall blog about it only when I am recovered from the impact of the latter.

Anyhow, this recipe uses my favorite spice panch phoron, the classic bengali 5-spice mixture. This is a comforting spice blend for me, I have grown up listening to its musical splutter when thrown into hot oil and then taste its wonderful balanced 'all in one" taste. Anyhow, I have used this in a weeknight dinner with butternut squash and shrimp,

Stir fried butternut squash with spicy grilled shrimp

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients

1/2 lbs large peeled and deveined shrimp
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive or mustard oil
1/2 teaspoon panch phoron (bengali 5-spice nigella, cumin, mustard, fenugreek and fennel seeds)
1-2 whole dried red chilies
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cups peeled cubed butternut squash or pumpkin
1/2 frozen peas
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Lots of freshly ground black pepper

Method of Preparation

1. Coat the shrimp with the turmeric, chili powder and half the salt.
2. Spread the shrimp on a baking tray, spray with cooking spray and begin to broil on low.
3. In the meantime, heat the oil in a cooking pot and add the whole red chilies and the 5-spice mixture.
4. When the mixture begins crackling, add in the ginger and shallots and stir for 1-2 minutes and add in squash with the remaining salt and begin cooking on low.
5. Turn the shrimp after 5-minutes and cook on the other side for 2-3 minutes and turn off the oven. The shrimp should be golden orange with light brown spots at places.
6. Cover and cook the squash till almost done (about 5 minutes).
7. Remove the cover and stir in shrimp and peas and cook on medium high heat until the peas are done and the squash is begining to brown at spots.
8. Stir in cilantro and black pepper.

This dish is best enjoyed with rice and dal.