Curried Shrimp and Crab Gumbo

Name: Curried Shrimp and Crab Gumbo
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3/4 cup vegetable oil; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1 medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped; 1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped; 2 celery stalks, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons minced garlic; 2 tablespoons minced ginger; 6 cups homemade shrimp stock or store-bought seafood stock; 3 medium tomatoes, crushed in a food mill, or 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes; 2 sprigs curry leaves (about 15 leaves); 2 dried bay leaves; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder or ground cayenne; 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed; 1/4 pound blue lump crab meat (about 3/4 cup), or use other lump crab meat; Cracked black pepper, for serving; 1/2 cup chopped cilantro stems and leaves, for serving; 1/2 cup chopped scallions, for serving; Steamed rice, for serving

Recipe from Arvinder Vilkhu

Adapted by Brett Anderson

Curried Shrimp and Crab Gumbo — Sara Essex Bradley for The New York Times

Total Time: 1¾ hours
Rating: 4(248)
Comments: Read comments

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. —Brett Anderson

Featured in: Gumbo, the Classic New Orleans Dish, Is Dead. Long Live Gumbo.

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share
Print Options
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the Roux

¾cup vegetable oil
1cup all-purpose flour

For the Gumbo

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
1½teaspoons kosher salt
½teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder or ground cayenne
1pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
¼pound blue lump crab meat (about ¾ 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

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

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 ¼ 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 ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ 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.

Ratings

4 out of 5

248 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Jeff Chan6 years ago

Curry leaves fresh?

Bill K.6 years ago

This makes way more than four (4) servings. Maybe as many as 12. One cup of flour for the roux is a lot. Then 32 ounces of seafood stock. I will say this was a delicious recipe. Especially the twinkle end where the cracked pepper, cilantro leaves, and scallions were placed in the bottom of the bowl before the gumbo was poured in. This recipe was a huge hit in our family. But it serves more than four (4) people. I would have cut the recipe in half for my wife and I. Thank you!

BGunn6 years ago

Curry leaves have nothing to do with curry powder. Curry leaves impart a subtle flavor to a dish, in much the same way bay leaves do. Curry powder was an invention of the British Raj that came out of the British mispronunciation of the word "Karhai" which is the name of the cooking vessel commonly used in Indian cooking. The brits wanted to take home an approximation of the spicing they came to love in India, so they invented curry powder - or else their cooks did it for them.

Maree11 months ago

Accidentally pureed the onions and sauteed the veggies first but couldn't see the roux color change after 10 mins so next time get roux almost chocolate milk cookie then add veggies to saute. Was still good but I think it could have been better with a darker roux color.

SarahT1 year ago

This was astounding! I couldn’t get a tub of lump crab, so I learned how to pull meat from snow crab legs! Anyway, I tried the one to one proportion for the roux as several suggested. With the amount of stock called for, it was quite soupy/thin. Next time I’ll reduce the amount of stock. The curry leaves are key. If they’re hard to find, perhaps order online.

Raymond Diamond2 years ago

This recipe is terrible and misleading. One cup of flour is excessive to make a roux, but an inexperienced cook such as myself who follows the recipe carefully would not know that. This error ruined the dish and wasted excellent ingredients. A supposed pro chef should be more meticulous when listing the ingredients.

Private comments are only visible to you.