Curried Shrimp and Potato Kebabs

The Curried Shrimp and Potato Kebabs pack a punch of flavour. They’re made by preparing a marinade of curry powder, garlic, and cilantro for the potatoes and shrimp kebabs, which are then cooked on grills. One can serve a yoghurt-lime dipping sauce, a coriander chutney, or any other accompaniment with it. To make the kebabs, one will need potatoes, oil, cilantro, curry powder, garlic, salt, shrimp, yoghurt, and lime juice. A simple dish to make, the crucial bit is when the kebabs must sit in the marinade, increasing the dish’s prep time by a reasonable margin.

The potato, an essential ingredient in not just this dish, but several dishes across the globe, has a fascinating history. It was indigenous to Peru till about the 16th century, and only really moved out of there with Christopher Columbus’ voyages. It travelled from Europe to Africa and Asia, arriving by sea, and was soon grown in these places. In India in particular, the potato came with Portuguese and Dutch traders and remained restricted to a few areas along the Malabar Coast. It was only as recently as the 18th century that the potato got a new boost, under the British East India Company's ‘civilising’ mission, replacing local produce with ‘superior plants’. They encouraged farmers to grow the potato and traded it across the world. The potato soon transformed Indian cuisine and has become indispensable in Indian kitchens today.

It's this transformative and chameleon-like ingredient that these kebabs call upon, making the Curried Shrimp and Potato Kebabs as historically interesting as flavourful and gastronomically layered and complex.