I’ve been wanting to do a shrimp dish for awhile now.  I had the perfect opportunity when friends came over with a variety of dietary differences.  One didn’t eat red meat, another no wheat, and another no sugar.  I had to find a few dishes that everyone could eat and agree upon.  Shrimp was the choice for the main dish.  And an excellent choice it is!

Tababajab min al-Ruiyan:

Fried Dish Made from Shrimp

Translation:

Take Shrimp, shell them, boil them and remove them from the water. Gently drain them or be patient until they dry from their water then place them in a pot. Chip onions for them. Fry in olive oil and throw in dried spices. Sprinkl with vinegar and scatter rue over the top of it. Then serve. (Al-Warraq/Salloum, pp. 116-117

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs Shrimp

1 Tbs. each dried coriander, fresh ground pepper, caraway

1 onion

2 Tbs. fresh ginger

Olive oil

Redaction:

All the spices in one spot with the chopped up onion.

I did this slightly backwards. I boiled the shrimp first then peeled.

A minor difference. From there I put the onions into a pan with lots and lots of olive oil.

You could use butter or sesame oil if you prefer. Try the olive oil first then a different oil next time. The onions were turning slightly translucent when I added the ginger, then the spices.

Once the spices were mixed with the onions, I added a bit more olive oil as the onions had absorbed a good percent. The shrimp were added.

I cooked and stirred till the shrimp were well coated in the spices.

This is one of the best shrimp dishes I’ve had in a long time.